Name: How California Can Use 50% Renewable Energy
Uploaded: 2016-05-17
Duration: 2 min 57 s
Description: By 2030

So the goal, it's a law now in California, That's right. 50 % by 2030 and right now California is, roughly, at about 25 %? As a state PG & E we just crossed 30 % at the beginning of this year. Okay, so can we get there and if so how? The short answer is it's a no brainer. We will get there. Right now we're required to be at 33 % by 2020. We'll do that in 2016, maybe it'll take 2017. and We've already got a line of site to projects That will get us to the 50 %. So I'm very confident by 20, 30, we'll be at that 50 %. Now what does that 50 % include? So the 50, the California has a very narrow definition of renewable, so it doesn't include nuclear, it doesn't include energy efficiency, it doesn't include large hydro above 30 megawatts and although it's just as renewable as small hydro. By the time we hit 50 % the state will be actually producing 75 % of our electricity from nongreenhouse gas emitting sources. Mm hmm So, Danny, are there any obstacles out there to hitting this target? It sounds like it's too easy. Well I think Tony's exactly right and the Cal ISO would back him up to say by 2030 we're more on track for 70 plus percent. The challenge then is going to be managing that grid with all those different inputs. And there are challenges to that which include storage and to be ready by 2030 for the massive deployment of commerciable storage, we need to be starting to roll it out now over the next ten years. Which means the regulatory rules need to be written in the next couple years to build the market. So that's a big piece. So can't be done without massive amounts of storage. Is that correct? It could be but it will probably be done with storage in the mix and so we need to get on that. That's the most likely commercial solution that's already been pioneered in PG & E territory down here in Southern California, Edison. We need to scale that, write the rules for that and CalCharge one of the organizations we run is very much part of that with the National Labs trying to get ready for it. And then, there's the rest of the Grid management piece including with demand response and all the improvements we can do to increase the intelligence of the Grid, which is what Opower obviously does. And then finally, I'd say There will be shedding of surplus solar electricity within years in this state. What does that mean, shedding? You're selling it to other states? Well, right now they can't sell it so there's going to be this likely regionalization of the grid. Why can't they? Because the rules as currently structured and also because of some technology. I think there is a market in Arizona you can probably sell some there [ LAUGH ]. Mexico elsewhere and you know other uses and storage will be a solution for that too. Yeah