California Renewable Energy Legislation / Progress

[cpa]

Exact reason we just expanded our solar system from 12 to 16kw. We intend to be 99.9% self-sufficient and give the big middle finger to SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Extortion for those unfamiliar).

When I used to live in El Lay, I would frequently drive to San Diego and environs. I recall that someone had erected a billboard along the highway (I don't remember which one) soon after crossing the San Diego County line. The billboard read, "Welcome to San Diego County! Owned and Operated by San Diego Gas & Electric."

This was back in the '70s-'80s, so I presume the billboard is long gone. But it validates your belief.

 

[SageBrush]

They figured out the Trump is on the way out so it's safe to abandon him.

And then GM will "work" Biden ... like they "worked" Obama

Meaning demand $Billions for promises they intend to break at the first opportunity.

 

[Merrill]

Exact reason we just expanded our solar system from 12 to 16kw. We intend to be 99.9% self-sufficient and give the big middle finger to SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Extortion for those unfamiliar).

It’s San Diego Graft and Extortion.

 

[Ampster]

And then GM will "work" Biden ... like they "worked" Obama

The leverage on GM worked to give Tesla a good deal on Fremont. The loan to Solyndra did not work out as well.

 

[mspohr]

California Sets $200M Budget for ‘Complex, Multi-Property Microgrid’ Projects

California regulators have approved a microgrid plan directing $200 million to help communities build networks that can supply power through the state’s extended wildfire-prevention blackouts, a task expected to take years to move from planning to completing its first projects.

But private microgrid developers argue that the plan doesn’t go far enough to allow private investment to bolster resilience for this year’s fire season, or to meet the mandate of a 2018 law calling for tariffs to allow commercial microgrids to flourish.

 

[ThomasD]

Biden's plan is for 100% renewables by 2030 Wind turbines automatically shut down at 55mph. They will also shut down if ice forms on the blades. Won't generate when wind speed is below 9 mph. Solar generates power when there is enough sunlight. Is it possible to have enough battery backup to power our Cities. Towns. Businesses, Hospitals and Homes during times when other renewables won't work. IF necessary for days.

 

[Ampster]

Biden's plan is for 100% renewables by 2030

That is more aggressive than California, which already has a big head start.
The one I saw had a goal of 2050 and a 50% goal by 2035.
Is there an updated version of this one?
9 Key Elements of Joe Biden’s Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution | Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website
I expect more details and budgets by the time any of the above campaign goals are actually put into plans with funds allocated. It will be interesting to see how this roles out and how the US does compared to China, Great Britain and Europe.

 

[Ampster]

Here is what Biden's Climate Czar McCarthy had to say.

 

[alloverx]

Anything more than 5 years out is bull crap.
All targets should be 5 years. In year 4 you revisit to check on cost, likelihood and impact.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Biden's plan is for 100% renewables by 2030.

Biden's plan is targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2035. That 5 years makes a huge difference in an industry which is seeing rapid growth in generation and investment in storage.

The Green New Deal is zero carbon by 2030, which includes nuclear.

Wind turbines automatically shut down at 55mph. They will also shut down if ice forms on the blades. Won't generate when wind speed is below 9 mph.

Standard cut-in speed is 5-7 mph. It depends on the turbine.

Since ice is a known issue, and since winter production is high, turbines have built-in systems to prevent ice build-up.

Solar generates power when there is enough sunlight.

Solar generates power during daylight. The amount depends on the panel design. One of the reasons people are excited about the growing use of PERC cells is improved generation in diffuse light.

Oversizing, which is growing due to falling LCoE, and storage, which is growing due to falling costs, is the basic approach that gives both more consistent feed-in and the time-shifting to handle peak demand.

Is it possible to have enough battery backup to power our Cities. Towns. Businesses, Hospitals and Homes during times when other renewables won't work. IF necessary for days.

Batteries wouldn't be used for multi-day storage.

Hospitals are not something to worry about. They already have large back-up generation systems and are priorities for utilities.

Besides, renewables aren't just wind and solar.

 

[alloverx]

In a previous life I recall Diesel generators being used at big installations for immediate backup. With enough fuel for around 36 hours, assuming more fuel would be onsite by then. You would need a large battery farm to replace that.

 

[RubberToe]

Haven't posted one of these in a while, but there has been an extraordinary increase in the amount of SPV being generated in California starting earlier this year. The green arrow on the first chart shows the difference between March of last year and this year. SPV production was up 34.65% year over year. The second chart shows the raw increase each month year over year in MWh. The March 2021 increase of 710,015 MWh is the second largest increase ever.

This is going to continue based on the numbers I'm seeing in the CAISO data. For example, the peak SPV production on any day in 2020 was on 6-29 at 121,702 MWh. On 4-6 this year we hit 118,221, so that 121,702 record is going to be broken in a matter of days. In 2020 total renewable as a percentage of total power year to date (4-8) was 24.51%, and this year it is at 31.43%. Last year ended at an overall 27.46%. Going to be a very interesting year no doubt. I also saw some articles stating that there is now 10x the amount of batteries deployed versus last year. Hopefully this helps avoid the power outage we had to deal with last summer.

 

[ohmman]

Haven't posted one of these in a while, but there has been an extraordinary increase in the amount of SPV being generated in California starting earlier this year. The green arrow on the first chart shows the difference between March of last year and this year. SPV production was up 34.65% year over year. The second chart shows the raw increase each month year over year in MWh. The March 2021 increase of 710,015 MWh is the second largest increase ever.

This is going to continue based on the numbers I'm seeing in the CAISO data. For example, the peak SPV production on any day in 2020 was on 6-29 at 121,702 MWh. On 4-6 this year we hit 118,221, so that 121,702 record is going to be broken in a matter of days. In 2020 total renewable as a percentage of total power year to date (4-8) was 24.51%, and this year it is at 31.43%. Last year ended at an overall 27.46%. Going to be a very interesting year no doubt. I also saw some articles stating that there is now 10x the amount of batteries deployed versus last year. Hopefully this helps avoid the power outage we had to deal with last summer.

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I am assuming partly installations and partly the fact that this has been an exceedingly sunny winter and spring here. At least in Sonoma County.

 

[iPlug]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[Ampster]

At least in Sonoma County.

Yes this March was way above last year but February was behind. I am ahead from last year in Sonoma Valley but now people are talking about rationing water.

 

[RubberToe]

Just broke the record, 127GWh of SPV generated yesterday. Here is 4-19-20 first followed by 4-19-21:

 

[RubberToe]

And a new chart showing how much higher we are going to go this year compared to last year:

 

[Dave EV]

Also interesting to see that "Imports" have turned into exports on sunny weekends now. Still having to curtail a significant amount of solar on days like this, could export even more (or charge more batteries, of which there are still a trivial amount on the grid comparatively). It seems that there is a floor of about 3 GW of natural gas that has to remain online for some reason. Image from California ISO - Supply

 

[mblakele]

Hope this is reasonably on topic: CA ISO is gearing up for a new study of grid storage.

http://www.caiso.com/Documents/California-ISO-Prepares-for-Surge-in-Grid-Scale-Energy-Storage.pdf

[...]​

The ISO is projecting a four-fold increase in the amount of battery storage on its system from late last year to this summer. At the end of 2020, the ISO had about 250 megawatts (MW) of storage resources -- primarily 4-hour batteries -- connected to the grid. It currently has about 500 MW on its system, and expects to have a total of 2,000 MW by August 1. This rapid pace of growth is expected to continue in the years ahead.​

​

Unlocking the full value of energy storage resources requires changes to the ISO market to better align price signals and cost recovery mechanisms with the reliability and operational needs of the grid. The ISO intends to leverage expertise from across the storage industry and to share its findings through such initiatives as the Global Power System Transformation Consortium that was formally launched last week with the US Department of Energy and utilities around the world.​

​

The ISO published an issue paper today on possible energy storage enhancements, outlining the current challenges, and seeking input on new market mechanisms to fully integrate storage and maximize its use on California’s electricity system.​

The issue paper effectively launches the Energy Storage Enhancements (ESE) stakeholder initiative process, which will invite feedback from all industry sectors, particularly the storage resource community, on the market redesigns and their effects.​

A stakeholder call is scheduled May 5 to respond to questions and gather comments on the issue paper and discuss next steps in the process. Follow developments on the process on the ESE initiative webpage.​

 

[Dave EV]

While we're talking about massive grid storage in California, today is the first day that I saw where batteries have been charging at more than 500 MW for any period of time on CAISO - I wish we could look at multiple days at a time on the CAISO Supply site to get historical data easier, but it looks like the previous peak was around 400-450 MW or so.

664 MW charging peak at 10:35 AM this morning. Looks like today will easily set a new record in terms of total MWh charged by batteries. I wonder what big battery came online today?