California Establishes a Path to an Energy Efficient Future nrdc.org, November 27, 2017 California recently established an ambitious blueprint for how the state will meet its target of doubling statewide energy efficiency savings by 2030, which would be equivalent to avoiding the annual electricity use of 12 million households and the natural gas consumption of more than … Read more
Mathew Gard, ERS, for Zondits For a few hours on May 13, 2017, 67% of the electricity passing through the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) was from renewable sources. The ISO serves electricity to 80% of the state of California and parts of Nevada. Over the course of the entire day on May 13, 42% … Read more
How Batteries Could Revolutionize Renewable Energy Time, May 1, 2017 All over California, there’s evidence of the state’s goal to lead the country in renewable energy. Enormous farms of shiny solar panels have popped up across southern California, and gigantic wind turbines dot the landscape outside nearly all the major cities. There are less flashy—and … Read more
Tesla’s Battery Revolution Just Reached Critical Mass Bloomberg, January 30, 2017 Tesla Motors Inc. is making a huge bet that millions of small batteries can be strung together to help kick fossil fuels off the grid. The idea is a powerful one—one that’s been used to help justify the company’s $5 billion factory near Reno, Nev.—but batteries have so far only … Read more
Daniel Pidgeon, ERS, for Zondits Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric are seeking a combined $1B over the next five years (in addition to $200M already going towards electric vehicle charging infrastructure) to help the state meet its electric vehicle targets and carbon reduction goals. This figure would … Read more
Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits Southern California is becoming a high-stakes testing ground for utility-scale battery energy storage. The energy storage provider AES has secured two contracts totaling 37.5 MW (150 MWh) that will be critical for San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) to meet its peak demands. The AES press release states that the two … Read more
California Is First State To Set Energy-Efficiency Limits For Computers NPR, December 16, 2016 California is the first state to adopt efficiency standards for computers and monitors, the state’s energy commission announced this week. The commission approved regulations that limit the amount of energy computers and small servers can use when they are idling, asleep … Read more
How Utilities Can Become Efficiency Innovators Greentech Media, November 28, 2016 The New York Public Service Commission, seeking innovative solutions in its Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding, instead opted for an outcome-oriented approach to measuring and incentivizing efficiency performance. An outcome-oriented metric would focus on the policy goal of reduced energy use overall, putting a smaller … Read more
California accelerates energy storage deployment with new legislation Energy Storage News, September 28, 2016 California state legislature and governor Jerry Brown have signed into law four key new energy bills that are set to accelerate energy storage deployment in the Golden State. Bill AB 1637 follows up on the previous victory that storage experienced with recent Self … Read more
California Goes Nuclear Free As Diablo Canyon Closes In Favor Of Renewables Cleantechnica, June 22, 2016 California, the world’s sixth largest economy, has announced it will go nuclear free as it replaces the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors with renewable energy. Californian utility PG&E announced a Joint Proposal with labor and leading environmental organizations this week that … Read more