Friday, May 24, 2019

California invested heavily in solar power. Now there’s so much that other states are sometimes paid to take it

By , in Economy on .

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.

State Senate Leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) wants Calilfornia to produce 100% of its electricity from clean energy sources such as solar and wind by 2045. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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

https://thebubble.news/2018/11/06/california-invested-heavily-in-solar-power-now-theres-so-much-that-other-states-are-sometimes-paid-to-take-it/

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