Suzanne Potter | PNS Link to article SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Advocates contended a new United Nations report Climate change report United Nations 08/09/2021 waving red flags on climate change is particularly critical for California, where megafires and persistent drought already are becoming the norm. The report also predicts up to a foot of sea-level rise […]
Offshore Wind Push Gains Momentum in California
Nick Cahill| Courthouse News Service Link to article Lawmakers clear a proposal intended to jumpstart floating wind farms off the coast, saying the technology could prop the state’s buckling power grid and create more than 10,000 new jobs. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Caught again in an energy crisis and facing another summer of rolling blackouts, […]
Newsletter: How solar panels on farmland could help California fix its water and power crises
Sammy Roth | Los Angeles Times Link to article This is the July 8, 2021, edition of Boiling Point, a weekly newsletter about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. To the extent most Californians are thinking about energy right now, they’re probably wondering whether the lights will stay on during […]
California just committed itself to “an unprecedented amount” of clean energy
Nathanael Johnson | Grist Link to article The state sees renewables as the best way to prevent blackouts. California just made a massive order for clean electricity. On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a plan that requires utilities to buy 11.5 gigawatts of zero-carbon electricity by 2026. That’s a lot: Between a third […]
Record wildfire threats mean California must pick when and where to fight, utilities, analysts, CalFire agree
Herman K. Trabish | Utility Dive Link to article Winds, drought, heat and land uses take utility-critical questions of wildfire fight beyond utilities In 2020, California had over 9,900 wildfires, which burned a record 4.25 million acres and killed 33 people, according to the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). It is time […]
California may build 11.5GW of almost all carbon-free resources to replace its last nuclear plant
Jeff St. John | Canary Media Link to article Regulators have decided that adding 7.5 GW by 2026 won’t be enough after the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant closes. Can California build so much clean and reliable grid capacity in time? California regulators have proposed adding 11.5 gigawatts of almost completely carbon-free capacity to its grid […]
Close the gas facility
Jake Levine and V. John White | Santa Monica Daily Press Link to article It’s time to close the Playa Del Rey gas storage facility. Here’s what officials must do next. When a gas well at the Aliso Canyon underground storage facility exploded in the winter of 2015, it made news for the massive climate […]
The Lithium Gold Rush: Inside the Race to Power Electric Vehicles
Ivan Penn and Eric Lipton | The New York Times Link to article A race is on to produce lithium in the United States, but competing projects are taking very different approaches to extracting the vital raw material. Some might not be very green. Atop a long-dormant volcano in northern Nevada, workers are preparing to […]
Ruiz urges energy secretary to invest in clean energy jobs at the salton sea
May 5, 2021 Press Release The American Jobs Plan will help make Southern California a global leader in clean energy and lithium battery technology Palm Desert, CA – This week, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) met with Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to chart a path forward to develop the lithium deposits underneath the Salton […]