California Public Utilities Commission orders 11.5 GW of clean energy resources by 2026 to meet the state’s 100% clean energy goals.
On June 24, 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a decision ordering utilities to purchase 11.5 GW of new electricity resources between 2023 and 2026 from preferred resources, including renewables, distributed energy and zero-emitting sources.
The 100% greenhouse-gas-free and renewable resources will power approximately 2.5 million homes in the state. According to the commission, “this represents the largest capacity procurement ordered at a single time by the CPUC and is the largest requiring only clean resources.”
CPUC regulates utilities and services, safeguards the environment and helps enable access to safe, reliable infrastructure and services in California. The decision to integrate large amounts of renewable energy resources supports California’s goals for renewable and clean energy and grid resilience, which includes 100% clean electricity by 2045, according to the CPUC news release. It also helps the state respond to extreme weather demands.
Workers assemble a solar installation in California.
Green procurement supports a clean energy economy
“The procurement we ordered is equal to [the] output of four large nuclear power plants or 20 natural gas plants,” explained Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen in the release. “Included [are] solar, wind, geothermal and long-duration storage — pumped hydro facilities or other emerging technologies that can store energy for eight hours or longer. Our actions today will ensure that we can keep the lights on during periods of greatest demand,” even as the state retires its natural gas plants.
According to CPUC President Marybel Batjer, more than 63% of California’s power comes from zero-carbon resources including solar, rooftop solar, geothermal and batteries.
Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma noted the CPUC vote “will task the utilities to invest in clean generation necessary to address climate change with accountability.”
New procurement joins existing California programs
The procurement decision adds to California’s existing orders for:
- 3,300 MW of clean energy to come online in 2021-2023.
- 1,325 MW required by a decade-old bill.
- 1,500 MW recently procured to address extreme weather and summer reliability.
- 4,000 MW already contracted to come online by 2024.
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Great content in this post. More and more cities and companies are betting on cleaner energies like solar and wind as alternative and more sustainable ways with the world to obtain energy. Great job and contribution with information like this!
Thank you for your comment Vortex!
All the best,
Lili Francklyn