California Lawmakers Set Goal for Carbon-Free Energy by 2045

[Stormysaga + 62]

California took some of the most aggressive steps yet to counter the effects of climate change as legislators voted to require that 100 percent of the state’s electricity come from carbon-free sources. The bill gives the state until 2045 to meet the goal. 

California had already imposed a mandate to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030; the bill increased the amount to 60 percent.

[Sofia + 35]

Good news but 2045 is too far away. 

[Vlad Kovalenko + 115]

This is a great goal, but does this include cars? Doesn't it still come down to housing? If they aren't serious about density, then they aren't going to be carbon free  

[Adam Varga + 123]

No mention of nuclear, so they will fail, hard. The state already has the highest power bills in the country. Unless they embrace nuclear or go back to the stone age it isn't happening.  

[BlackTortoise + 103]

Hope they can figure out how to keep the wind blowing and the sun shining 24x7, 365 days per year or develop the worlds biggest battery. Sure renewables have their role, but setting dates to say "no oil, coal or natural gas" generation is ignoring science.  

[Janet Alderton + 124]

Energy storage advances are key to flattening the "duck curve" where demand increases after people return home after work. I have solar panels and an electric car and still receive money back from Pacific Gas & Electric. 

[markslawson + 1,058]

40-50 per cent may not be so hard in California. Its been a while since I looked at the figures but the state has a lot of hydro - 30 per cent now the drought is over??.. plus geothermal, which also counts as a renewable and some biomass. Someone with more time to look for the figures may have better details. The 100 per cent figure is, however, utterly absurd. Completely unrealistic without nuclear. The lawmakers are grandstanding for their electorates and shoving a mess of problems onto a future generation of politicians. No-one has gotten to 100 per cent without 80-90 per cent hydro-geothermal already and even then they have diesel backup. Some European countries have claimed 100 per cent at any one time (Denmark), but the figure is contestable and most emphatically does not mean 100 per cent for the year or whatever.