The California Independent System Operator (ISO) announced that renewable energy sources met 99.87% of momentary electricity demand at 14:50 local time, surpassing previous records set earlier this year.
California ISO reported an all-time high in solar energy production, peaking at 13,628 MW on April 8. Wind power suitably came in at its highest with a record of 6,265 MW on March 4 - a substantial growth in grid-connected solar and wind capacity.
California's ulterior goal is to achieve a carbon-free power system by 2045.
"Their [fossil fuel's] role is not going to go away until we have a substitute for the service that natural gas generation provides," says Arne Olsen, senior partner at Energy + Environmental Economics, an energy think tank. "The good news is that you can get an awful long way just by adding wind and solar and batteries to our current grid."
California's current grid-connected solar capacity comes in at over 15,000 MW, of which nearly 8,000 is directly contributed by wind power. The ISO intends on expanding, with 600 MW of solar and 200 MW of wind energy joining the grid soon.
Achieving a fully fossil-fuel-free energy system will definitely require innovative solutions and technologies since the the ISO may need to store energy for extended periods due to unpredictable weather.
Energy experts say renewable energy and storage will get California and other states a long way towards a carbon-free electricity supply.
"We should be doing everything we can to build huge amounts of solar, huge amounts of wind, huge amounts of energy storage and that's going to get us at least 90 percent of the way there to a clean grid," Mark Specht, Western states energy manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists, tells NPR. "It's really that last 5 to 10 percent where it starts to get much harder."
To meet its ambitious target of carbon neutrality, deployment of renewable energy sources must be accelerated in California. Solar and wind projects must be constructed at an unrealistic three times faster than the current rate, while battery projects must come in at eight times faster.
California's near 100% renewable energy achievement is a significant step toward a sustainable future. It demonstrates our collective responsibility towards fostering a greener environment.
Source: Sommer, Lauren. NPR. "California just ran on 100% renewable energy, but fossil fuels aren't fading away yet". May 13, 2022. [Accessed: May 14, 2022].
Edited by Yash Pincha.
Comments