News concerning climate change has been highly negative this year. On Monday, the Secretary General of the U.N. warned that nations worldwide are falling behind on their commitments to combat climate change. He also warned that if they don’t progress in the next decade, we’ll be in a catastrophic climate. The same day, the EPA revealed plans to reduce the methane emissions limit, which is the third attempt by the administration in its current form to loosen regulations on greenhouse gases in the year ahead.
However, California leadership’s commitment to climate action stands out amid adverse reports. This week, when representatives from all four continents gathered in San Francisco for the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit, Governor Jerry Brown approved legislation mandating that the entire state’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2045.
Senate Bill 100 was introduced by state senator Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), and it took two years of negotiations before it was passed by both chambers of the legislature last month. Liam Dillon reports for the Los Angeles Times. On Monday, Governor Brown made law and executive order for carbon neutrality requiring the state to simultaneously eliminate all carbon dioxide it releases from the atmosphere. “California is committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet the existential threat of climate change,” Governor Brown declared during the signing ceremony. “And the fact is that it’s an imminent threat. Whatever the critics might say, it’s an actual, immediate threat to California and the rest of the population around the globe.”
The law, which comes into force in January, will not set out a specific plan for achieving the target. Instead, according to Dillon says, supporters believe that having a high-quality target will show researchers and investors working on clean energy that there is a massive demand for their technologies and can trigger new investment rounds and research.
Technologies considered to be clean power comprise wind, solar biomass, geothermal small hydropower, renewable gas projects, ocean current, wave, and waste-to-energy projects. According to the law, large hydropower and nuclear power projects are not considered clean energy.
The law requires California to provide fifty percent of its energy requirements through clean power in 2025 and to reach sixty percent in 2030 before increasing to 100 percent in 2045. California’s legislative framework had set earlier the goal of achieving 50 percent emission-free energy in 2030, as Camila Domonoske from NPR also observes. California is already on track to achieve clean power and has around 32 percent of retail energy produced by renewable sources.
But reaching 100%, or perhaps 60 percent could be a struggle. This is because, even when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind’s power fluctuates, On-demand gas power is still required to meet energy demands.
The solutions are large-budget items, such as developing a more efficient electrical grid and creating new, high-capacity electricity storage systems like the one installed in Australia. In the form of a press announcement, it was noted that the California Energy Storage Alliance, an advocacy group, estimates that the state would need to acquire more than 9,604 megawatts worth of capacity to satisfy its requirements.
However, many other issues with technology are coming up, says Lauren Sommer at KQED. The shift from fossil fuels toward renewable sources will likely disrupt energy markets and create many headaches. At the same time, new technological solutions are designed and put into operation, while old ones are discarded.
If the goal of 100 percent is too ambitious is an additional issue to be discussed. “You can do a lot with wind, solar, and storage technology, but it’s tough to squeeze the last bit of gas generation out of the system,” Matt Barmack of Calpine, which owns several natural gas generators, says to Sommer. “How many miles do we need to take it? Do we need 95 percent, considering it is expected to be significantly cheaper than 100?”
Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) said to Bill Bradford at Capitol Public Radio in June after the lower house of the legislature approved the bill that such issues must be addressed more specifically. “I accept science. I believe that climate change has been addressed,” He said. “But other issues, such as economics, must be taken care of, too. I want to ask you to hit”Pause. We’ll get back to work. This year, let’s develop something everyone can see as a model.”
Before California, as reported by Anne C. Mulkern of ClimateWirereports, Hawaii passed a similar piece of legislation in 2000 that required 100% clean energy in 2045. Similar to California, the law needed more specifics. “When they approved legislation, they didn’t know what it would take to make it perform. We’re still trying to figure out how,” Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake representing Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Hawaii Solar Energy Association, informs Mulkern. However, Moriwake believes that this is to be expected. “The beauty of the RPS The magic of the RPS sustainable portfolio standards that you decide on the target. It sends a clear message to market participants that you’re heading towards that goal. The market and technology do the rest.”
Since California is now on board and both states are on the same page, their progress will be monitored closely. Christian Roselund, reporting for P.V. magazine, a source for the solar power industry, explains that California has a population of around 40 million people and is the fifth-largest economic power globally, and is a green policy-maker. When the state adopted its 50 percent target for renewable energy by 2030 in the year 2015, New York and New Jersey also passed similar legislation shortly afterward. Nevada, along with Arizona, is scheduled to take a vote for similar 50 percent mandates by 2030 in November.
Ethan Elkind, director of the climate change program at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley and informs Mulkern that the outcome of the green energy laws at the state level in Hawaii as well as California will determine if others state follow the same path. “For the country as a whole, it shows the laboratory effect of having states take the lead on this issue,” Elkind states. “As Hawaii and California take the lead, it will provide examples of how it can be done for other states, both good and bad.”