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.
Solar panels clustered in an urban environment to provide energy to surrounding buildings, homes. (Photo: Gengwit Wattakawigran. via Shutterstock)OPINION: All Californians have the right to access affordable clean energy. However, the majority of Californians are unable to take advantage of solar energy generated at their home because they are renters or homeowners without a suitable roof. These significant barriers are not adequately addressed through California’s existing clean energy programs.
California wind turbines provide electricity carried through nearby power lines. (Photo: Mark Higgins, via Shutterstock)
OPINION: As finger-pointing continues over California’s rolling blackouts, some are trying to pin the blame to renewable energy. They are wrong. It’s clear that California’s ambitious renewable energy efforts were not at fault.
A battery array storing backup energy for an office. (Photo: Vittee, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Everyone is familiar with the saying about an ounce of prevention. California Professional Firefighters urge the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to take a common sense, important action to help prevent avoidable fire hazards.
An aerial and solar energy installation in the southern California desert. (Photo: Veeterzy, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The clean energy revolution is here, now, and California is a trailblazer of its success. Solar and wind power, electric vehicle use, rooftop photovoltaics, and community choice aggregation are all on the rise in California. The traditional centralized, fossil-fuel power plants are now competing with renewable and distributed energy sources, forcing the industry and regulators to adapt, and upending close to one hundred years of power generation and distribution.
High-voltage power lines at sunset. (Photo: Ron Kacmarcik, via Shutterstocfk) OPINION: California is on the verge of joining Hawaii in setting the bold but achievable goal of getting to 100 percent clean electricity in just one generation. Other neighboring states are also developing very ambitious goals to double or even triple the amount of renewable energy they will generate over the next decade.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County at Avila Beach. (Photo: Michael L. Baird, via Wikipedia) A final decision looms on whether to close California’s last operating nuclear power plant. The California Public Utilities Commission will hear closing arguments tomorrow, Nov. 28, on the fate of the controversial Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. The commission is expected to make a decision by the end of the year.
Solar PV panels used to power agricultural equipment in the Central Valley. (Photo: Shippee, via Shutterstock)This first Earth Day under the Trump administration, we’re reminded that environmental and clean energy progress at the local level – in our states and our communities – is more important than ever.
Solar PV panels used to power agricultural equipment in the Central Valley. (Photo: Shippee, via Shutterstock)OPINION: When we combined the separate maps, the result was pretty remarkable: Out of the 9.5 million acres in the stakeholder study area, the groups identified 470,000 acres of ideal, non-controversial land for solar PV development, or roughly 5 percent of the Valley study area. At a generic calculation of 1 megawatt of solar PV production from 5 acres of panels, that means the lands identified could provide 94,000 megawatts of renewable power.
OPINION: Tens of thousands of homes lost power, hundreds reported gas leaks, and dozens of gas lines broke in the quake, forcefully reminding us about the vulnerability of not only our buildings but also of our energy infrastructure