California invested heavily in solar power. Now there’s so much that other states are sometimes paid to take it
Perhaps the most glaring example: The California Legislature has mandated that one-half of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030; today it’s about one-fourth. That goal once was considered wildly optimistic. But solar panels have become much more efficient and less expensive. So solar power is now often the same price or cheaper than most other types of electricity, and production has soared so much that the target now looks laughably easy to achieve.
At the same time, however, state regulators — who act independently of the Legislature — until recently have continued to greenlight utility company proposals to build more natural gas power plants.
These conflicting energy agendas have frustrated state Senate Leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), who opposes more fossil fuel plants. He has introduced legislation that would require the state to meet its goal of 50% of its electricity from renewable sources five years earlier, by 2025. Even more ambitiously, he recently proposed legislation to require 100% of the state’s power to come from renewable energy sources by 2045.
Sources:
https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-electricity-solar
Al-Amin Farazi
Latest posts by Al-Amin Farazi (see all)
- Trump in Hanoi was no Reagan in Reykjavik - March 13, 2019
- San Bernardino County slams the brakes on big solar projects - March 13, 2019
- Russian River flooded - March 13, 2019
0 comments