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Opinion: Five Solutions to California’s Climate Crisis Gov. Newsom Should Implement … Right Now

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Jacobson

Like most Californians, I have not seen blue skies for weeks. The dirty air I’m breathing hurts my lungs and stings my eyes. My kids are confined to the indoors to protect their growing lungs, though I’m concerned that even our air indoors contains dangerous pollutants.

While fire crews work to stop more loss of life and officials work to update plans for the next fire season, California must face the toughest challenge of all: How do we slow and ultimately stop the changes in our climate that are making wildfires in California even more dangerous and deadly?

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Three Key Takeaways from FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee’s Keynote at REFF

/in , , /by /pv magazineby Eric Wesoff

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has had a busy year. Chairman Neil Chatterjee gave a keynote at last week’s virtual REFF Wall Street to sum up 2020’s regulatory challenges and victories.

Chatterjee believes in competitive markets and is happy to see renewable sources win on price on an equal playing field. He didn’t mention solar by name — but he is really enthusiastic about storage, hybrid generation, and the changing regulatory landscape around these new resources.

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How a Plan to Save the Power System Disappeared

/in , , /by /The Atlanticby Peter Fairley

On August 14, 2018, Joshua Novacheck, a 30-year-old research engineer for the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was presenting the most important study of his nascent career. He couldn’t have known it yet, but things were about to go very wrong.

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The World’s Largest Battery Could be the Answer to California Blackouts

/in , /by /High Country News and Gristby Emily Pontecorvo

Move over, Australia — California has stolen the claim for largest battery installation in the world. In the middle of a vicious heatwave where demand for air conditioning led to rolling blackouts, an energy development company called LS Power was working hard to add more lithium-ion batteries to its Gateway Energy Storage project in San Diego.

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Its Electric Grid Under Strain, California Turns to Batteries

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Ivan Penn

Last month as a heat wave slammed California, state regulators sent an email to a group of energy executives pleading for help. “Please consider this an urgent inquiry on behalf of the state,” the message said.

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Can Community Microgrids Fill the Gap in California’s Plans for 100% Renewable Energy?

/in , /by /PV Magazineby K Kaufmann

The Goleta load pocket is a 70-mile stretch of Southern California coastline that includes the cities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Goleta — combined population around 220,000 — all served by one 220-kV transmission line snaking its way over 40 miles of mountainous terrain.

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California Allows Polluting Power Plants to Keep Running. Recent Blackouts Helped Save Them

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Two weeks after California was hit with rolling blackouts, state regulators extended the lifespan of a fleet of gas-fired power plants Tuesday, saying the facilities are needed to maintain reliability of the electricity grid. The State Water Resources Control Board voted 4-0 to allow nine generating units to operate up to three more years before they’re mothballed, overriding objections from environmentalists and some local officials complaining about air and water pollution.

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Opinion: Blackouts Expose Need for Expanding Energy Storage

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Jim Madaffer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The sad reality is that the blackouts rolling across California this past week were both predictable and avoidable. The silver lining is that future blackouts across California are avoidable – if we invest in large-scale energy storage projects to provide on-demand power.

Energy analysts have warned for years that California’s embrace of renewable energy sources – while laudable – create significant risks that can and should be addressed to sustain our economy and quality of life while maintaining progress toward the state’s climate goals. What no one could have known was that we’d be roiled by a pandemic and a recession when the energy grid’s weaknesses were exposed for everyone to see.

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Opinion: Blackouts Expose Need for Expanding Energy Storage

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Jim Madaffer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The sad reality is that the blackouts rolling across California this week were both predictable and avoidable. The silver lining is that future blackouts across California are avoidable – if we invest in large-scale energy storage projects to provide on-demand power.

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Why Renewables Aren’t to Blame for California’s Blackouts

/in , , /by /National Geographicby Alejandra Borunda

When blackouts rolled across California on August 14 and 15, briefly cutting off power to several hundred thousand households and their air conditioners, fridges, and medical devices during a pandemic and a record-breaking heat wave, some critics blamed the state’s heavy reliance on solar and wind energy. As the state pursues its ambitious renewable energy goals, they asked, will electric power become unreliable?

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