A 100 percent clean energy power grid appears to be very close in California. The state came closer than ever to its goal of having a carbon-free grid within 25 years and it ran off more than 97 percent renewable energy for a short period of time earlier in April.
The California Independent System Operator said in a statement that it’s an important start.
“While these all-time highs are for a brief time, they demonstrate the advances being made to achieve California’s clean energy goals,” ISO CEO Elliot Mainzer.
Renewable energy is much more efficient in spring. This is because the temperatures are low, and the sun’s angle provides ample daylight hours on solar panels. It’s also quite windy which helps as 75 percent of your power grid is composed of wind energy on a given day.
Ashutosh Bhagwat, chair of the ISO Board of Governors, said renewable energy is humanity’s future.
“We are getting to re-imagine what the grid will look like for generations to come,” Bhagwat said in the ISO statement. “These moments help crystallize the vision of the modern, efficient and sustainable grid of the future.”