For decades now, people have been installing solar panels, wind turbines and more to transition our energy to renewable sources – but we wondered, how’s it going? We turned to California’s electric grid for answers.
Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
If you only know one thing about climate change, it’s probably that we need to stop using fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy.
For decades now, people have been installing solar panels and wind turbines trying to do just that – but we wondered, how’s it going? Are we actually close to powering our world without coal, gas or oil?
We had Nat Hardy from our Possibly Team look into this.
Nat Hardy: Hi, Megan!
Megan Hall: So how are we doing? Are we close to switching to renewable energy?
Nat Hardy: So the answer is a little different depending on where you live. The US doesn’t have one big electric grid, so different regions and states all use different amounts of renewable energy. But some places are doing really well!
A great example is California. The state has been a leader in renewables for a long time, but this spring they’ve hit some really impressive milestones.
On almost every day from March to the start of June this year, California was able to power the whole state with renewable energy – at least for part of the day.
Megan Hall: Really? That’s amazing
Nat Hardy: It’s pretty impressive! So to learn more, I talked to Elliot Mainzer, the CEO of California’s Independent System Operator. They’re the group that manages the electricity market and the electricity infrastructure for most of the state.
Elliot Mainzer: There are days, particularly in the springtime, when there’s a lot of sun, quite a bit of wind, the hydro system is starting to ramp up, when the amount of renewables that’s on our grid can actually meet all or even more of the total consumer demand inside the state.
Nat Hardy: California has made this happen by building tons of solar panels – about 25 percent of the US’s solar capacity is in California.
Megan Hall: And those solar panels have helped power the entire state the past 3 months?
Nat Hardy: Well they’ve powered the state for part of the day, over those three months.
Megan Hall: What do you mean?
Nat Hardy: So an important thing to know about energy is that traditionally, you need to use the electricity you make, right away. And this can be a little tricky for renewable energy like solar and wind.
Megan Hall: Because the sun only shines during the day?
Nat Hardy: Exactly. So during the day they have lots of electricity to use, sometimes even more than they need. But at night, they’ve had to fall back on fossil fuels – mostly natural gas.
Megan Hall: Can they save that extra solar energy somehow? Or does it just go to waste?
Nat Hardy: Well they are able to save some of it! In the past, you needed to use electricity right away – but new developments in batteries are starting to change that. And California has built lots of them.
Elliot Mainzer: Those batteries absorb a lot of that extra solar during the day. And then in the evening, as the sun is coming down, but there’s still a high demand for electricity, they inject their power back into the system. It’s almost a perfect match.
Nat Hardy: Because of the batteries, California has been able to use less natural gas during the evenings. For the first time this year, there have been moments where batteries provide more power than gas!
Megan Hall: So what does this all mean? Is California close to running on just renewable energy?
Nat Hardy: They still have a way to go. They’ve been able to power the state with renewables during the spring, when conditions are just right.
Megan Hall: So later in the year, they’ll use more fossil fuels?
Nat Hardy: Unfortunately yes. And if you average it out, over a full year, 47% of California’s energy comes from renewables. So if they want to get to 100%, they’ll have to make more energy and battery technology will need to get better. But Elliot says he’s optimistic:
Elliot Mainzer: If you had asked me to try to predict all the things that are going on in the grid today, 25 years ago, I would have been so far off, so it’s going to be a very innovative and creative next couple decades.
Megan Hall: Okay but how’s the rest of the country doing?
Nat Hardy: Nationally only about a quarter of our energy comes from renewables. But even that number is way up from a decade ago.
Megan Hall: And where we’re from, in New England…?
Nat Hardy: Only about 14% renewable. So we have work to do. But other states are showing this transition is possible, and they’re demonstrating how to get there.
Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks Nat!
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Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.
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