PD Editorial: California’s green energy milestone

If you blinked, you could have missed it. But for four seconds on April 24, renewable sources supplied 94.5% of the electricity on California’s primary power grid|
THE EDITORIAL BOARD

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If you blinked, you could have missed it. But for four seconds on April 24, renewable sources supplied 94.5% of the electricity on California’s primary power grid. OK, four seconds isn’t long, and the primary grid reaches only about 80% of the state. But it wasn’t just a momentary bolt of green energy. The Los Angeles Times reported that renewables stayed above 90% of the power on the grid for most of the afternoon on April 24. Wind and solar provided the bulk of the green energy, with smaller contributions from hydro, biomass and geothermal.

Elliot Mainzer, the president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator, the agency that runs the main grid, told the Times: “It sends chills down my spine. It’s amazing. These types of transitions aren’t always pretty. But we’re getting a lot of renewable generation online, making a real dent in the state’s carbon emissions.” California’s goal is to reach 100% renewable power by 2045. The brief milestone reached April 24 suggests that the Golden State has a path to get there sooner.

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Editorials represent the views of The Press Democrat editorial board and The Press Democrat as an institution. The editorial board and the newsroom operate separately and independently of one another.

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