Grist: "California just debunked a big myth about renewable energy." New study in the journal Renewable Energy that looked at California’s deployment of renewable power 'found that last year, from late winter to early summer, renewables fulfilled 100 percent of the state’s electricity demand for up to 10 hours on 98 of 116 days, a record for California.' There were no brownouts or blackouts, due in part to backup batteries. 'At their peak the renewables provided up to 162 percent of the grid’s needs—adding extra electricity California could export to neighboring states or use to fill batteries.' Mark Z. Jacobson, the lead author on the study and a civil and environmental engineer at Stanford, argues the study demonstrates 'we can keep the grid stable with more and more renewables.' The study compared 116 days in 2024 to the same period in 2023, showing California’s output from solar had increased 31% and wind was up 8% “Every major renewable—geothermal, hydro, wind, solar in particular, even offshore wind—is lower cost than fossil fuels” on average, globally." So why do Californians pay the second highest rates for electricity in the country? "That’s not because of renewables, but in part because utilities’ electrical equipment has set off wildfires —like the Camp Fire started by Pacific Gas and Electric’spower lines, which devastated the town of Paradise and killed 85 people —and now they’re passing the costs that come from lawsuits and burying transmission lines to their customers." And don't forget storage. "After increasing more than 30-fold between 2020 and 2023, the state’s battery capacity doubled between 2023 and 2024, and is now equivalent to the juice produced by more than four nuclear power plants." Another attack against renewables is they won't be able to support more EVs, induction cooktops, and heat pumps plugging into the grid. "But here, too, California busts a myth: "Between 2023 and 2024, demand on the state’s grid during the study period actually dropped by about 1%." Go myth-busters.
