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>>The state currently generates 62% of its electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources, with the largest percentage of that coming from solar

62% is pretty respectable for the size of California (same electricity consumption as Spain). I did not know this.

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And as of the writing of this comment, ~7pm, about 25% of CA's grid is supplied by batteries: https://www.caiso.com/todays-outlook/supply

I was shocked when I saw how much batteries contribute, honestly don't hear about them much but they have scaled a lot in recent years.


Amazing what California can achieve when they don't have to deal with constant cease-and-desist lawsuits, eminent domain battles, environmental review challenges, etc (crying in high speed rail)

…and massive subsidies for the developers at the federal level…

https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/califo...

Flattening the Duck Curve: batteries reach 44% of evening demand in California - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47633698 - April 2026 (5 comments)


You might be surprised to know that worldwide, low carbon electricity production is a little above 40%

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-mix?tab=line&...


Also the 2nd highest electricity prices in the USA behind Hawaii

Imagine how much more expensive it would be if renewables didn't make up such a big share.

Probably cheaper? Renewables have a big upfront Capex usually financed.

Everything has a big upfront Capex. However you finance it and because renewables are cheap fuel they come out cheap in the long run.

A large part of the Capex of renewables is land costs - which are high, but once you have the land you keep it. This cost is generally all financed as part of the initial build, so in 30 years everything is paid for - but you have to finance to replace only the renewables while keeping the land and so the second round is a lot cheaper.


No, renewables are much cheaper.

Including the cost of the batteries to make it stable over the day? Would need a source for that. My understanding is it comparable at best, but certainly not "much cheaper".

Yes, I was impressed with this number as well. I wonder when we'd reach 75-80%, but I believe the zero-carbon electricity target is 2045?

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grid maintenance is massive but wildfire liability is a larger problem California faces more than any other state

if only California didn't ban cultural burns in the first place


> and zero-carbon sources

this part of the claim is carrying a ton of weight here... Zero-carbon sources could include carbon dependent sources with paper offsets.


Electricity sources are tracked by the California Energy Commission, the 2024 report [0] shows the zero-carbon sources that make up this claim are:

  Nuclear     9.92%
  Large Hydro 11.06%
  Biomass     1.94%
  Geothermal  4.60%
  Small Hydro 1.52%
  Solar       21.30%
  Wind        11.89%
2% from biomass is suspect as a "zero-carbon" source, but the rest seems to be reasonably be zero carbon by today's standards.

[0] https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/califo...


Biomass is zero carbon. It pulled all the carbon it will emit from the air already. Burning it simply returns what it had already recently removed.

One can even potentially pyrolize the biomass and get biochar, giving up some energy but making it carbon negative power source.


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As someone who isn't in California, it's understandable that you might think this. It is, fortunately, wrong.

The biggest driver of costs of electricity in CA are (1) paying for damages caused by grid-initiated wildfires, and (2) paying to upgrade the grid to prevent future cases of (1).

This information comes directly from the government who approves rate increases for regulated utilities, and who has to publish their spending. PG&E, the primary power company, is also a public company and their financials are therefore public.

Rooftop solar specifically (and not general grid-scale renewables) do shift the cost balance of fixed-cost infra and consumption based usage, but the wildfire issues dwarf this.


For time of use rates ~0.34/kWh is the cheapest rate for overnight hours. 4-9pm is over 50c/kWh. It's crazy how prices have increased the last decade.

At least at those rates getting solar on your roof and a battery in the basement sounds like a bargain.



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