Clean, renewable generation sources are getting an undeservedly bad rap these days. Despite representing the vast majority of projects in queues from coast to coast, wind and solar have become a punching bag in U.S. discourse, deemed “unreliable” at best and often referred to as “scams” or worse.
None of that gibbering has slowed California’s progress toward a carbon-free future, and flying directly in the face of the rhetoric du jour, the state has just surpassed another historic milestone in its progress: California was powered by more than two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. The state is the largest economy in the world (California is the fourth-largest) to integrate renewables to this degree.
New data indicates that 67% of the state’s 2023 retail electricity sales came from renewable and zero-carbon electricity generation, specifically solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, geothermal, and biomass, compared to 61% the previous year and approximately 41% a decade ago. In 2024, California added a record 7,000 megawatts (MW) of clean capacity to the grid, representing its most significant single-year increase in clean energy capacity and marking a third consecutive year of unprecedented growth.
Since 2019, 25,000 MW of new energy resources statewide have been added to the grid, mostly solar and battery storage, an amount equivalent to roughly half of the state’s record peak demand in 2022. The rapid growth aligns with Governor Gavin Newsom’s roadmap to the state’s clean energy future, released in 2023, which called for 148,000 MW of new clean power by 2045.
“Trump and Republicans can try all they want to take us back to the days of dirty coal, but the future is cheap, abundant, clean energy,” stated Governor Newsom.
More than nine out of 10 days so far this year have been powered by 100% clean energy for at least some part of the day in California, where the power grid has run on 100% clean electricity for an average of seven hours per day. Data compiled by the California Energy Commission shows clean energy has powered the equivalent of 51.9 days in the state, nearly 30% of the year to date, running on 100% clean electricity. That means California has already surpassed the number of “clean energy days” it had last year, representing a 750% increase in clean energy days since 2022.
“The latest numbers show how our state is demonstrating that clean energy is mainstream and is here to stay,” said California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild.
Pollution Down, Investments Up
Historic investments over the past 15 years have led to an extraordinary pace of development in new clean energy generation, and as the grid is increasingly powered by clean energy, pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California have dipped 20% since 2000, despite the state’s GDP increasing 78% in that same time period. The power sector is a major driver of the decline in greenhouse gases. Emissions from electric power have been cut in half since 2009, helping the state achieve its emissions reduction goals years ahead of schedule.
California is also home to the most clean energy jobs in the U.S., and the state’s renewable energy and clean vehicle industries lead the nation in growth. California boasts more than half a million green jobs and has seven times as many clean jobs as fossil fuel jobs. Solar and wind jobs account for a majority; battery storage and grid modernization are also rapidly growing sectors within California’s clean energy workforce.
Status of Cali’s Clean Tech Fleet
Sources eligible under the state’s Renewables Portfolio Standard made up 43% of the power mix in 2023, up from 39% in 2022. Other zero-carbon resources continue to power the grid, with large hydro accounting for 12% and nuclear power at 12% in 2023.
“California has set ambitious clean energy goals, and utilities and community choice aggregators have stepped up to deliver clean resources at competitive prices to communities up and down the state,” said California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds. “We are bringing renewable energy online at an unprecedented scale and pace never seen before.”
Solar represents the technology with the largest amount of installed renewable energy capacity in the state – over 21,000 MW of solar capacity operates the electric grid, and another 19,000 MW of behind-the-meter generation. The California grid regularly breaks solar generation peak record levels. The latest solar peak recorded in late May was over 21,500 MW of solar generation.
The state is also doubling down on its goals by swiftly increasing its battery energy storage capacity. The state’s battery fleet now stands at over 15,000 MW, an astounding 1,944% larger than when Governor Newsom took office in 2019.
