California Will Get Greener Faster Under New Clean Energy Mandates

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (San Francisco, California) on February 10 ordered California's electric generators to procure about 25,500 megawatts (MW) of new clean supply-side generation and another 15,000 MW of new energy storage and demand-response by 2032 in order to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the electric sector.

"Today's decision provides direction for procurement of an unprecedented amount of new clean energy resources. It keeps us on the path toward achieving our state's ambitious clean energy targets, while ensuring system reliability," said CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen.

That order also lowered by 25% the amount of CO2 emissions that can be emitted by the electric sector, to 35 million metric tons (MTs) by 2032, down from the earlier level of 46 MTs.

This new preferred system portfolio differs from the one California utility regulators previously adopted in that it includes more solar and battery storage, as well as new long-duration storage, out-of-state wind, and offshore wind resources, the CPUC said in a February 10 statement. It added that the inclusion of offshore and out-of-state wind resources "demonstrates their increased viability as cost-effective resources to help meet state goals."

Industrial Info is tracking approximately 155 renewable energy projects under development in California, with an aggregate value of about $30.3 billion. In addition, IIR's Global Marketing Intelligence (GMI) platform is tracking roughly 69 energy storage projects in the state with total investment value of approximately $13.2 billion.

The California counties with the highest dollar value of renewable generation projects under development include Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego. The counties with the greatest value of energy storage projects under development include Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino and Fresno.

Click on the images at right to see the 10 California counties with the greatest dollar value of proposed renewable energy projects and energy storage projects.

The regulatory agency said its preliminary analysis of the preferred system plan portfolio of the state's load serving entities (LSEs) indicates there is sufficient space for all of these new resources on the existing transmission system, with only limited transmission upgrades needed by 2032. This finding will be validated at a more granular level by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in its 2022-2023 Transmission Planning Process (TPP), the CPUC said.

The CPUC order comes less than two weeks after the state's electric grid operator, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) (Folsom, California) said up to $30.5 billion of new transmission investment may be needed over the next 20 years for the state to meet the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) contained in a state law, S.B. 100. For more on that, see February 15, 2022, article - About $30 Billion in Transmission Project Spending Needed to Meet California's Clean Energy Mandate.

The two agencies, along with the California Energy Commission (CEC) (Sacramento, California), are working together to create a roadmap to meet the requirements of the state's aggressive decarbonization goals as contained in state law.

The CPUC decision specifically mandates utility procurement of two battery energy storage projects that were identified by the CAISO as alternatives to transmission upgrades in the previous transmission planning cycle. These alternatives achieve the same level of system reliability at lower costs to ratepayers, the CPUC said.

Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of Global Power Research, commented, "The CPUC decision indicates there's a new Gold Rush under way in California. This time it concerns renewable energy and energy storage. But as this decision, and Pacific Gas and Electric's recent estimate on the hefty projected cost to bury electric distribution lines, show, decarbonization and fire protection are huge and growing businesses in the Golden State."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.