{"id":591608,"date":"2023-09-18T01:20:33","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T22:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions\/"},"modified":"2023-09-18T01:20:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T22:20:33","slug":"california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"#California looks toward renewable future amid contentious power plant decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af7744a7e451\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af7744a7e451\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions\/#Controversial_power_plant_extensions\" >Controversial power plant extensions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions\/#The_potential_of_renewables\" >The potential of renewables<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions\/#%E2%80%98Ahead_of_benchmarks\" >\u2018Ahead of benchmarks\u2019<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/califnuclear_010505_ap_cali-grid-future.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>California officials have garnered criticism in recent months over\u00a0their\u00a0decisions to prolong the lifespans\u00a0of natural gas and nuclear facilities despite\u00a0the state\u2019s\u00a0pledges to shift to cleaner energy.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers have argued the moves are part of a critical balancing act between\u00a0California\u2019s\u00a0ambitious renewable energy goals and the need to keep homes heated and powered.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>But many scientists and environmental advocates believe this step is unnecessary \u2014 and that\u00a0the state\u00a0would succeed in providing ample power and attaining its goals without keeping such plants open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have abundant renewable clean energy resources,\u201d Laura Deehan, state director for Environment California, told The Hill. \u201cAnd in fact, with the current <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>, we have the ability to build a much more resilient electricity grid.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Controversial_power_plant_extensions\"><\/span>Controversial power plant extensions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Earlier this month, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)\u00a0voted unanimously in favor\u00a0of increasing the capacity of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility \u2014 a site that was also home to the nation\u2019s biggest methane leak in 2015.\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.cpuc.ca.gov\/PublishedDocs\/Published\/G000\/M518\/K915\/518915126.PDF\">The\u00a0CPUC\u00a0maintained<\/a>\u00a0that doing so served \u201cto guard ratepayers from the type of natural gas price spikes that occurred last winter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And about a year before that, state lawmakers \u2014 with the governor\u2019s support \u2014\u00a0passed legislation seeking to extend the shelf life of the decades-old Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.\u00a0While nuclear power plants do not generate greenhouse gases, they produce a small amount of radioactive waste.<\/p>\n<p>Keeping the Diablo site open, officials contended, could help tide the state over as it transitions to an entirely renewable energy economy.<\/p>\n<p>The decisions\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared to run counter to\u00a0climate goals the state has set over the past five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>California\u00a0committed in 2018 to achieving a\u00a0100 percent renewable energy-powered grid by 2045, per legislation signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown (D).<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Gavin <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>om (D)\u00a0followed up\u00a0last year with\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1020\">interim targets<\/a>\u00a0that aim for 90 percent\u00a0renewable energy\u00a0by 2035 and 95 percent by 2040.\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1279\">Separate\u00a0legislation<\/a>, meanwhile, urged carbon neutrality no later than 2045, while also setting an 85 percent emissions reduction target for that year, in comparison to 1990 levels.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0move\u00a0to\u00a0expand the Aliso Canyon\u00a0facility\u2019s capacity\u00a0was\u00a0also\u00a0perceived as an about-face from Newsom\u2019s campaign promises\u00a0in 2018\u00a0\u2014 at which time the then-lieutenant governor told a\u00a0reporter\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AbBTsj9smmk\">he was \u201cfully committed\u201d<\/a> to shutting down the site entirely.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The main ingredient of natural gas is methane, a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide. The October 2015 leak\u00a0at the Aliso Canyon facility, which was only controlled in February 2016, forced more than 8,000 households to temporarily relocate.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to the CPUC\u2019s decision, Newsom\u2019s deputy press secretary at the time stressed that although the governor appreciates the agency\u2019s efforts to preserve energy reliability, he continues to advocate for the facility\u2019s permanent closure.<\/p>\n<p>Deehan expressed her disappointment in seeing these gas plants getting extensions, even more so because they are located \u201cin places that have a history of environmental disasters.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cTo me, that just underscores the urgency of moving even faster towards our clean energy goals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Another recent and contentious energy-related move involved <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB846\">the passage of\u00a0legislation<\/a>\u00a0last fall seeking to\u00a0extend operations until 2030\u00a0of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, located along California\u2019s Central Coast.<\/p>\n<p>Licenses for the site\u2019s two\u00a0reactors were set to expire in November 2024 and August 2025, respectively, and Pacific Gas &amp; Electric previously announced\u00a0plans\u00a0to decommission them at that point.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>About six months after the legislation\u2019s passage,\u00a0however,\u00a0the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission\u00a0granted an exemption\u00a0allowing the facility to operate under its current licenses while the agency considers a renewal that could last up to 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>While Newsom and state legislators have backed the extension as a reliable bridge to support California\u2019s clean energy transition, environmental groups have been vocal in their opposition\u00a0to\u00a0the plans.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University professor of civil and environmental engineering,\u00a0attributed the decision to the \u201clobbying power of the nuclear industry and their advocates.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_potential_of_renewables\"><\/span>The potential of renewables<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Experts like Jacobson maintain keeping the power plants online\u00a0is\u00a0unneeded and could be counterproductive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of renewable energy projects in the queue in California,\u201d Jacobson told The Hill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of them are just slowed by either transmission barriers or red tape,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re just backed up in terms of permitting approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Jacobson cited a variety of solar, geothermal, wind, hydroelectric and battery storage projects in the pipeline, stressing that \u201cthere\u2019s really no reason California can\u2019t get to like 80 percent renewables by 2030 or even 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From a technical perspective,\u00a0he\u00a0expressed confidence that California would have no problem meeting its renewable energy targets.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to the state putting 5 gigawatts of batteries on the grid in the past few years as an example of its ability to fulfill these goals,\u00a0adding that aside from during summer, California\u2019s peak\u00a0energy\u00a0demand is about 25 gigawatts.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, solar energy fulfills almost all the state\u2019s daytime electricity needs, aside from\u00a0in the\u00a0summer, when natural gas is also used, according to Jacobson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt night, so when the solar goes down, then you have hydro, wind, geothermal, which is pretty constant,\u201d he said, noting that batteries are also \u201ckicking in\u201d after sunset and before sunrise.<\/p>\n<p>While Diablo Canyon is still open, it is providing a peak supply of only 2.3 gigawatts \u2014 half the amount that batteries are\u00a0supplying, Jacobson added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Diablo Canyon\u2019s not necessary really,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Jacobson took that notion one step further, by asserting Diablo Canyon\u2019s continued operation is blocking further offshore wind development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiablo Canyon has this huge transmission line that\u2019s going to the coast right there,\u201d he said. \u201cBasically, Diablo Canyon is hogging that line \u2014 slowing the ability of offshore wind to be built off the coast of central California.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The California coastal environment, Deehan added, is among \u201cthe places in the world where the wind blows harder and faster than anywhere else \u2014\u00a0really high potential for clean energy production there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0960148121016499?via%3Dihub\">A 2021\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0co-authored by Jacobson suggested deploying more offshore wind turbines could help avoid summer blackouts because wind speeds are the fastest during this season.<\/p>\n<p>Acknowledging that offshore wind costs have recently spiked due to high interest rates, Jacobson expressed some concern about a possible slowdown\u00a0in infrastructure deployment\u00a0if the situation doesn\u2019t resolve itself soon.<\/p>\n<p>But on Thursday night, the California state legislature passed <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1373\">Assembly Bill 1373<\/a>, which would authorize the CPUC and the Department of Water Resources to purchase energy from offshore wind developers\u00a0if it is signed into law by Newsom.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about giving the state the power to buy that clean energy,\u201d Deehan said. \u201cAnd that way, they can order it up, which will then provide so much certainty for all the market forces, for the investors and the developers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As far as solar energy is concerned, Jacobson said this resource remains \u201cpretty cheap\u201d and that the cost of batteries \u2014 which can be installed quickly \u2014 has dropped significantly.<\/p>\n<p>But the professor accused major utilities of \u201cfighting tooth and nail to prevent people from putting solar on their roofs,\u201d referring to a recent decision to\u00a0weaken incentives\u00a0for new installations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that they\u2019re pushing this nuclear while reducing residential solar benefits is just ridiculous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Ahead_of_benchmarks\"><\/span>\u2018Ahead of benchmarks\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While Jacobson reiterated his belief that California would have no trouble keeping houses powered and heated without the Aliso or Diablo extensions, he also highlighted the potential of citizen demand-response in emergency situations.<\/p>\n<p>One day last year when there was a\u00a0chance\u00a0the grid could have failed, Newsom made an announcement asking people to stop using energy, Jacobson recalled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd amazingly, everybody did,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was actually a case of demand-response where they didn\u2019t even need financial incentives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jacobson touted the ability of the demand side to \u201ccontrol the grid,\u201d while deeming the idea that the grid would fail with more renewables \u201ccomplete nonsense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lobbying action against the deployment of renewables, he recognized, could slow down the state\u2019s charge to meet its clean energy targets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it\u2019s not stopping it, it\u2019s not reversing it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf anything, it\u2019s just slowing it down a little bit from reaching the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no technical reason the state can\u2019t achieve its ambitions even earlier, with all the renewable energy projects that are waiting in the queue, Jacobson argued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf everything was just approved today, you could reach the goal much faster,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Deehan echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that California is not at all off track in terms of its climate commitments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re ahead of benchmarks every single time in reaching all of our clean energy goals,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the challenge is, can we just speed up those goals?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/equilibrium-sustainability\/4207340-california-looks-toward-renewable-future-amid-contentious-power-plant-decisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California officials have garnered criticism in recent months over\u00a0their\u00a0decisions to prolong the lifespans\u00a0of natural gas and nuclear facilities despite\u00a0the state\u2019s\u00a0pledges to shift to cleaner energy. Lawmakers have argued the moves are part of a critical balancing act between\u00a0California\u2019s\u00a0ambitious renewable energy goals and the need to keep homes heated and powered. But many scientists and environmental&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":591609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/califnuclear_010505_ap_cali-grid-future.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,117,134353,134661,134420,73109,90482,133498,115],"class_list":["post-591608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-business","tag-court-battles","tag-energy-environment","tag-equilibrium-sustainability","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-house","tag-in-the-know","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}