Full Title: Reliably Reaching California's Clean Electricity Targets
Author(s): Derek Stenclik, Michael Welch, Priya Sreedharan
Publisher(s): GridLab, Telos Energy, Energy Innovation LLC
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
California’s Senate Bill 100 sets targets of 60% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. In December 2020, the Joint Agencies SB 100 report (hereafter, referred to as the “SB 100 report”) analyzed the feasibility of the SB 100 targets and showed that accelerating this timeline to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030 or 2035 could be cost-effective. However, the SB 100 report identified the need for further analysis to understand the reliability impacts of a clean portfolio. The reliability events that occurred
during August 2020 highlight the shifting resource adequacy challenges for California and the increasing importance of weather analysis in long-term planning.
The goal of this study is to identify an interim target (e.g., 80-90% clean electricity by 2030) for California on the path to 100% clean electricity by 2035 that can be reliably met, and to provide insights to policymakers on the opportunities and key drivers for ensuring reliability against a host of stress conditions that the power system may face in the future. While a few key related studies are underway, such as the California Energy Commission’s Long Duration Energy Storage studies, this project aims to complement, rather than duplicate, such efforts.