Full Title: Achieving 50 Percent Renewable Electricity in California (2015)
Author(s): James H. Nelson and Laura M. Wisland
Publisher(s): Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Publication Date: August 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Ramping up renewable energy in California is essential to lowering carbon emissions from the state’s electricity sector. Renewable energy can also reduce emissions in the transportation sector by powering electric vehicles.
As California moves toward increasing renewable energy beyond the current requirement of 33 percent by 2020, the state’s approach to managing the electricity grid needs to evolve to take full advantage of its low-carbon resources.
For example, natural gas power plants could generate electricity and provide reliability services when there is an ample supply of renewable energy available. In this scenario, electricity produced by natural gas power plants could “crowd out” renewable generation by forcing the grid operator to curtail renewables to avoid a situation in which electricity supply exceeds demand. This can result in a missed opportunity to take full advantage of renewable generation, and creates additional carbon emissions in the process.
To maximize the use of renewable energy, the electricity grid needs to ensure that clean energy resources are fully utilized when available.