Mark Jacobson’s Post

And WWS continues to propel California forward as we pursue more green (and in some instances all Carbon Free Energy) generation.

It was relatively easy for fossil fuel "enthusiasts" to cast doubt on a renewable future 10 years ago. "It'll never work", "It's nice in theory, but can't scale in practice", "The economics won't add up", we were told. Well, that kind of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) propaganda is getting harder and harder to push, as evidence keeps piling up, from Australia to California, and points in between. A renewable energy future IS possible, and it's not in the distant future, but it started decades ago, and will progress increasingly rapidly as we push deeper into the 21st century. The 20th century was the 100 years of oil. Cheap and available Fossil Fuel Energy drove an unprecedented era of rapid growth, wealth development, the industrial revolution and technology. But it had a high cost. The 21st century, we're going to IMPROVE on that cheap and available energy by harnessing renewables that will cost less to produce, be available in way more locations, and have vastly lower externalized costs (i.e. climate damage.) The renewable energy revolution isn't a sacrifice. It's a boon!

It’s wild that this isn’t getting more news coverage. For nearly two weeks, the largest state (California) in the largest economy in the world (America) has hit 100% renewable electricity generation (#solar, #wind, #hydro) for several hours. This has never happened before in history. Yes, California has briefly hit this milestone before on a few very sunny days since 2022. But never so consistently over a two week stretch. And what makes it even better is that California has the largest grid-connected battery storage facility in the world (came online in January, link in comments), meaning those batteries were filling up with excess energy from the sun all afternoon today and are now deploying as we speak to offset a good chunk of the methane gas generation that California still uses overnight. The big question now: how do we plug more of the machines in our daily lives (our cars, stoves, water heaters, etc) into this increasingly clean electric grid?

Eliminating competition violates tenets of the free market. Competition is a central component for the American economy – driving innovation, lowering costs, delivering higher quality goods and services. Right of first refusal (ROFR) laws will increase costs for Oklahoma families and businesses, by eliminating the benefits of free market competition - as demonstrated in states which have already implemented ROFR (Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, etc.). The free market is the only way to lower the cost of upgrading and expanding our electricity grid. State ROFR laws that protect incumbent utilities from competition in the development of new transmission lines are not necessary to achieve any of the goals of cost-effective, reliable grid modernization or lower electric rates for consumers. Policymakers should be working on policies to lower electric bills, not raise them. #statepolicy #utilities #economy #legislation #oklahoma #energy

California homeowners are getting impatient about the IRA state rebates. There's so much capital sitting on the sidelines, with homeowners anticipating these programs across the country. Larger markets like California and Texas aren't likely to have their programs active until Q3 '24–Q1 '25. Mid-market states like Washington and Oregon Q2-Q3 '24. What will be an exciting opportunity is that access to state rebate programs should also align with rate cuts from the Fed, which will increase capital access for consumers to accomplish electrification and decarbonization projects. I'm curious to see if state commerce departments and green banks can move in step to provide subsidized financing options through greenhouse gas reduction and clean energy funds. And it'll be interesting to see how contractors attempt to serve the low-income market given the equipment requirements, new regulations, and supply chain issues increasing costs, which presents unique challenges to aligning project needs with the funding caps. The next 6–12 months are going to see a lot of activity at all levels of the clean energy industry. It's going to be electric. #cleanenergy #ira #ggrf #electrification #solar #rebates #incentives #contrators #CA

So the price of California gas is going up again and California policy makers are scratching their head? Yes summer blend which helps emissions during the inversion layer month is on the horizon with more expensive production costs. That’s every year. Last year Newsom brought the winter blend on earlier to help bring down the cost of fuel. So much for the environment. (It’s tough to be a world leader in GHG reduction at any cost and not piss off the peasents). Anyway finger pointing does a good job. I suggest that in the spirit of killing our oil and gas resources, Newsom should take the entire state tax off the price of gasoline. I mean here in a few years California will be mostly on wind and solar and the tax income will be gone anyway. So why not let us, the consumer, benifit now? This will also kick start the state into finding a way to replace this tax. After all it’s only around 3% of the budget. But oh poop, the gas tax is just going up another 2 cents in July. Of course it didn’t help to drive competing refineries out of business either. Oh well bask in the sun of our glorious weather, ain’t it worth it?

Unfortunately for Gov. Newsom, it's not "price gouging" - it's poor policy and leadership. "PG&E’s January 1, 2024 Annual Electric True-Up and said PG&E has raised energy prices 60% in the course of the last two years – and 23.8% in a single year." "'As for electricity across the California/Arzona border differing by 275%, Noerr notes that Arizona isn’t exactly the lowest priced state for electricity in the U.S. He said Arizona ranks 25th – right in the middle of the pack." #Power #Electrification

This really shifts the EV calculation. Notably, Connecticut’s rates were nearly 30% higher than those of Alaska for the month of June, according to the EIA data. Connecticut sits in the most populous corridor of the entire U.S., while Alaska does not have the benefit of being able to share transmission lines or import and export power across state lines when needed as many states in the contiguous 48 are able to, according to the Alaska Policy Forum.

Power bills based on income will drive down costs for many while skyrocketing upper income bills. In the past 10 years, PG&E increased rates 84%; SDG&E up 137%. CA rates already 2x national average (4x at peak hours). Those are variable rates. In addition, homes earning over $180k will see monthly fixed billing scale up from lowest bracket of $15 - $95. Buckle up.

Despite constitutional questions and widespread objections, the House of Representatives approved HB 1589 at 2 a.m. yesterday morning. The bill clears the path for Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to force its 800,000 natural gas customers to convert their homes to all-electric and raises energy rates for all in the process. “Make no mistake. This bill will ultimately ban natural gas for all current and future Puget Sound Energy customers,” said BIAW Executive Vice President Greg Lane What does electrification mean? “Do you prefer to cook with natural gas? You will no longer have that option,” he said. “Do you rely on a natural gas fireplace when the electricity goes out? Now you will have no source for heat. Does your house have a natural gas furnace? Now you will have to pay to convert your entire system to electricity — at a cost of $40,000 to $50,000 per household. “And if you pay a utility bill to Puget Sound Energy, your rates will increase dramatically, both for natural gas and electricity,” he said. “In fact, your rates are likely to more than double. Live on a low or fixed income? How are you going to afford utility bills that double? Rent your house or apartment? Your rents are going to increase directly due to this bill. “All of these added costs for PSE customers are to achieve carbon reductions for our state that will be barely measurable,” he said. “Passing a bill that has significant constitutional questions like this in the dead of night while much of Washington was below freezing demonstrates how little the legislative majority cares about the people of Washington. “These added costs are unnecessary,” he said. “They are unreasonable. And they are cruel. BIAW will be vigilant on all fronts to continue to pursue affordable and accessible energy choice for all the people of Washington,” he concluded. Story from https://lnkd.in/g7NR-4uJ