Less than two weeks after achieving a record 97.6% grid-wide renewable energy share, California has hit a new milestone, with 100% of the state’s electricity supplied by renewable sources. renewable energy for a short time on weekends.
According to the California Independent System Administration, the state achieved this feat over a 15-minute period from 2:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, California time — the first time. The first in the entire state of California to be powered entirely by renewable energy.
In fact, this is quite normal in places with smaller-scale grids, like in South Australia, but for California – one of the world’s largest economies and one of the world’s largest economies. largest grid – the milestone mentioned above is extremely special.
As you can see in the chart below, when the state’s electricity demand exceeded 18GW around 2:50pm, renewables provided a total capacity of about 18.6GW, compared with just over 2GW from nuclear, 2GW from gas, and 9MW from coal.
At the time, most of the renewable energy supply came from California’s solar system, about 12.4GW, while 4.7GW was from the wind system. The rest comes from geothermal, hydrogen, biogas, and biomass (agricultural waste).
Many posts on social media platforms including Twitter and LinkedIn have been posted to celebrate this hugely important first milestone, but certainly not the last, as the state of California plans to use 60% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% zero carbon emissions by 2045.
“20 years ago, no one thought we could reach 100% renewable energy. But little by little, we made it” – according to Dan Jacobson, a consultant for the California environmental agency.
“This is a great day for California and the rest of the world. 100% clean energy is ready to spread to the whole world. The future is right here, today, in California” – Jacobson said.
“California has proven that, in a brief and shining moment, we can do it.” California environment agency director Laura Deehan added.
“Now we need to hit the milestones of using 100% clean energy for the whole state for a day, a week, and a year. It’s time to switch to 100% clean energy, 100% of the time”
The milestone was announced amid a debate in California over the future of nuclear power in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom appears to be under pressure to extend the operating life of the state’s last remaining nuclear plant.
Since 2016, the state government has floated plans to replace the California plant this decade with solar, wind, and battery storage systems, but it’s also considering applying for funding. federation to prolong its life.
Meanwhile, the amount of additional electricity from renewable energy sources in California is continuing to increase, with 600MW of solar power and 200MW of wind power due to be added to the grid in early June; At the same time, the state will also increase battery storage capacity by 1.3GW, which is expected to increase from 2,700MW to 4,000MW on June 1.
Reference: RenewEconomy
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