California records 30 days out of 38 where 100% of electricity demand is met by renewable energy



As greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuels and the resulting global warming become a problem, power generation using

renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power is becoming more widespread. It was reported that in March and April 2024, there were more than 30 days in the power grid in California, USA, when electricity from renewable sources covered 100% of demand.



California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/renewables-met-100-percent-california-energy-demand-30-days/

'Unprecedented' energy record in California shows future of clean power, expert says | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/renewable-energy-record-solar-california-b2529029.html

Mark Jacobson , a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, has been tracking the share of renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, and solar in California's power grid. On April 14th local time, Jacobson reported on Twitter that there were 30 days in the past 38 days when renewable energy sources accounted for 100% of demand for 0.25 to 6 hours per day.

Below is the graph that Jacobson attached to his post to X. The vertical axis represents the percentage of electricity demand in California's main power grid, and the horizontal axis represents time, with yellow representing solar, green representing wind, red representing geothermal, orange representing small hydro, light blue representing large hydro, and dark blue representing batteries. Since solar power is not generated at night, the total amount of renewable energy generated is less than 50% of demand, but as the sun rises, the amount of solar power generation increases, and around 12 o'clock, there are times when 100% of demand is covered by renewable energy.



It can also be seen that surplus electricity generated by renewable energy sources during the day is stored in batteries, and electricity is generated using the batteries at night.



What Jacobson reported this time was that there were 30 days out of 38 in which there was a certain amount of time during the day when electricity demand could be met solely by renewable energy, but that there was no day when California's entire electricity demand was met solely by renewable energy. However, this is the first time on record that there have been 30 such days out of 38, and Jacobson told the foreign media outlet The Independent, 'This is unprecedented in California's history.'

With solar, offshore, geothermal, and battery transmission projects planned for the future, Jacobson estimates that California will be able to meet its electricity demand 24/7 with renewable energy alone by 2035.



California has been one of the US states most successful at generating electricity from renewable energy, but Jacobson said South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming also will generate more than 56% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2023.

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in Science, Posted by log1h_ik