. . . Highlights from the report include the following:
To reach the 2045 target while electrifying other sectors to meet the state’s economy-wide climate goals, California will need to roughly triple its current electricity grid capacity.
California will need to sustain its expansion of clean electricity generation capacity at a record-breaking rate for the next 25 years. On average, the state may need to build up to 6 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable and storage resources annually. By comparison over the last decade, the state has built on average 1 GW of utility solar and 300 megawatts (MW) of wind per year. Over the next three years, electricity providers regulated by the CPUC will add another 8 GW of clean energy resources.
Modeling of the core scenario for achieving 100% clean electricity showed a 6% increase in total annual electricity system costs by 2045, compared to the estimated cost of achieving 60% renewable electricity by 2030.
Advancements in emerging technologies, increased demand flexibility and cost declines in existing technologies may decrease the total electricity resource requirements and implementation costs. These topics, along with reliability, will be examined more closely in future analyses.
A clean electricity grid is necessary to achieve economywide carbon neutrality. Using clean electricity to power transportation, buildings and industrial operations helps decarbonize these sectors of the economy, which, along with electricity generation, account for 92% of the state’s carbon emissions.
California’s electricity mix is already more than 60% carbon-free. About 36% of that comes from renewable sources, predominantly wind and solar. . . .
Additional Multiagency Actions. The CPUC, California Independent System Operator and CEC are implementing actions to prevent electricity shortages and ensure delivery of clean, reliable and affordable energy in response to the August 2020 extreme heat wave. Among the actions are expediting the regulatory and procurement processes to develop additional resources that can be on-line by summer 2021 and ensuring that the generation and storage projects under construction are completed as scheduled.
This year, CARB will also begin the process to update the Assembly Bill 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan, which will assess progress towards reducing GHG emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and chart the path to carbon neutrality by 2045. The SB 100 report is one of the foundational reports that will inform the development of the next scoping plan. The CARB board will consider acting on the scoping plan in late 2022.