Posts Tagged: renewable energy

Opinion

CPUC should jumpstart offshore wind to meet climate goals

Image by TebNad

OPINION – The fifth largest economy in the world, California is a climate trailblazer and the first large state to set a 100% renewable energy target. Now, stakeholders and policymakers in the state must maintain our ambition and momentum to meet this target by staying on course to bring offshore wind online in the next seven to 12 years.

Opinion

Recess is over, Californians demand climate action from state legislators

The need for climate action, image by Shutterstock

OPINION – As we experience more extreme heat, droughts, water scarcity, and intense wildfires, California’s role as a climate leader for the nation and world is called into question. Our state legislature and Governor Newsom must now pass key climate bills to reduce emissions at the sources, hold polluters accountable for their climate impact, and support climate resiliency in frontline communities.

Opinion

Did an emergency text message keep our lights on? Yes and no

Wind-driven generators capture and deliver energy. (Photo: VG Foto, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: When Californians received an emergency text alert recently urging them to cut energy use, they probably didn’t know how much they were needed to avoid power outages. Electricity demand almost surpassed supply during a record heat wave worsened by climate change. And yet, unlike August 2020, outages never came.

News

Amid climate change, alternative energy issues get close look

Vertical-axis wind turbines in California. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

Officials with jurisdiction over about 80 percent of California’s power grid say the state faces a grim outlook as summer heat, wildfires and a severe drought intensify. Hoping to reduce strain on the power grid, experts are looking at alternative energy generation, distribution and storage. Some of these systems, inspired in part by the meltdown of California’s electricity market two decades ago, already are in place across the state.

Opinion

Clean energy a critical boost to Coachella Valley

A view of the Coachella Valley in inland southern California. (Photo: Virrage Images, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The inequalities of our state are writ large in the Coachella Valley. The west side of the valley offers verdant homes with pools that sell for millions, the distractions of Palm Springs and rock concerts, and a glamourous history that involves Hollywood and Presidents from Eisenhower to Obama who have come to the Coachella Valley to play golf.

Opinion

Path to 100% clean energy may be shorter than you think

Wind-driven electricity generators in Baja California. (Photo: VG Photo, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It’s no secret that the road to a 100% clean energy future could be bumpy. Reaching our state’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045 through wind, solar and other renewable sources while using utility-scale batteries to smooth out peaks and valleys in generation is possible, but it could prove prohibitively expensive.

Opinion

Leadership must act now on climate change

Solar panels arrayed in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: Andrei Orlov, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As firefighters from across the West come together to battle wildfires, and legislators meet for their last week of this year’s legislative session, our state’s leadership has before them a real opportunity to take decisive action to help mitigate the climate trends that are weighing on our state today.

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