The California Natural Resources Agency released an updated report detailing state actions and strategies to adapt to a changing climate as California continues to experience rising average temperatures, destructive fires, higher sea levels, and extreme precipitation events.

The Safeguarding California Plan: 2018 Update, released January 29, lays out a roadmap for everything state agencies are doing and will do to protect communities, infrastructure, services, and the natural environment from climate change impacts.

“California leads the nation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat the effects of climate change, but impacts already are being felt – and they are disproportionately affecting our most vulnerable communities,” California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird said.

On January 25, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. emphasized the need for climate action in his State of the State address.

The updated Safeguarding California Plan includes several new chapters and features, including a climate justice chapter highlighting how equity is woven throughout the entire plan.

From pinpointing vulnerabilities in the electricity grid to improving energy efficiency to realigning coastal roads to prepare for sea-level rise, state agencies are funding projects and actions to safeguard both natural and built environments from climate change impacts.

Research shows the Los Angeles region will see average temperatures rise 3-5 °F by mid-century and experience an increase in the number of extreme heat days, adding significant strain on the energy grid. The California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program funded a project to develop data that will help local and regional agencies and utilities identify where the grid is most vulnerable, which neighborhoods are served by these problem spots, and what types of adaptation measures should be taken to improve reliability and minimize risks to public health and safety.

Additional climate change adaptation actions can be found in a compilation developed by the Natural Resources Agency in tandem with the 2018 update.

Later this year, the Natural Resources Agency and other agencies will release California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, which will include more than 50 reports on expected climate change impacts in California.

For more about the state’s climate change adaptation efforts, visit http://resources.ca.gov/climate/safeguarding/.

Photo courtesy of the United States Geological Survey

California, which is on track to meet its goal of having 33 percent of its electricity come from renewable resources by 2020, now has its sights on making that 50 percent by 2030.

The bulk of the renewable resources are expected to come from solar and wind, but there is a potential problem. What happens to the electricity supply when clouds block the sunlight or when the winds aren’t blowing?

How that’s managed will be one of the many topics covered when the California Energy Commission along with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric host the fourth annual Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Symposium on February 7 at the Sacramento Convention Center.

The Energy Commission’s EPIC program supports innovations and strategies to advance clean energy technologies that help California meet its energy and climate goals.

California’s energy markets depend on accurate forecasts of the amount of solar and power that can be counted on in the next hour, next few days, and through the month.

Panelists will highlight cutting-edge advancements in forecast accuracy and quality and explain how wireless sensor technology is helping to improve the modeling and forecasting of California’s water resources so utilities can better manage hydropower generation.

The symposium is free and open to the public. To register, visit the EPIC Eventbee web page. To participate remotely, or view WebEx directions in the event notice.

California has demonstrated that it is possible to grow the economy with only a small increase in the state’s energy consumption.

From 2015 to 2016, electricity consumption in California grew less than 1 percent for a total of 285,701 gigawatt-hours, according to a recent California Energy Commission tracking progress report on energy demand.

With this slight increase in electricity consumption, job growth increased nearly 2 percent, and California’s gross state product grew almost 3 percent, according to the report.

The data comes from the Energy Commission’s 10-year forecasts for electricity demand in California which shows that economic growth outpacing energy consumption is part of a longer trend. The forecasts are part of the Integrated Energy Policy Report process.

Between 2000 and 2016, job growth increased nearly 13 percent while electricity consumption grew almost 9 percent.

The growth in the economy outpacing energy consumption occurred as population in the state increased. The state’s population grew by 15 percent from roughly 34 million in 2000 to 39 million in 2016, according to the report.

The data also includes three forecasts: a high energy demand forecast, a low energy demand forecast, and one forecasting mid-energy demand, as show below in Figure 1.



The high energy demand forecast incorporates relatively high economic and demographic growth, relatively low electricity and natural gas rates, and relatively low efficiency program and self-generation impacts.

The low energy demand scenario assumes lower economic and demographic growth, higher rates, and higher efficiency program and self-generation impacts. The mid energy uses assumptions at levels between the high and low cases.

The scenarios come from the Energy Commission’s California Energy Demand Updated Forecast, 2017-2027. That report incorporates recent economic and demographic projections and adjusts for the latest historical data available for consumption, peak demand, temperatures, and electricity rates.

The forecasts are used in various proceedings, including the California Public Utility Commission’s long-term procurement planning process and the California Independent System Operator’s transmission planning process.

There is no surprise in the latest report about electricity capacity and generation from the California Energy Commission: California continues moving away from fossil fuels as the state’s renewable energy portfolio expands.

“California’s policies are moving us towards more clean, reliable and affordable energy,” said California Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller. “Significant progress had been made in the electricity sector. We need to expand the use of clean energy to remove dirty, carbon fuels from the transportation sector.”

The tracking progress report compares “electric power capacity” and “electric power generation” over the past 16 years. Capacity reflects the total capability of various types of facilities to generate electricity while generation shows the actual generation of electricity produced.

Natural gas remained the largest portion of in-state installed capacity although it has declined in recent years. Meantime, solar and wind have increased. In 2016, solar photovoltaic capacity was 8,618 megawatts (MW) and solar thermal capacity was 1,249 MW. That’s enough electricity to power more than 3 million average California homes. The recent expansion of utility-scale photovoltaic solar included new projects in Kern, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Weather played a factor when looking at electricity generation in 2016. California’s hydroelectric generation doubled in 2016 as a result of storms and improved snowpack conditions. As hydroelectric generation increased, natural gas-fired electric generation decreased. At the same time, there was significant double-digit growth in both solar photovoltaic generation and wind generation. Total in-state solar generation increased nearly 32 percent from 2015. Wind generation increased nearly 11 percent.

California will experience a drop in the production of solar power when the moon eclipses the sun on August 21. Energy entities like the California Independent System Operator (California ISO), which manages most of the state’s electric grid, are preparing for that reduction.

The eclipse will be most pronounced in the Pacific Northwest where a total solar eclipse will occur. California will experience a partial eclipse.

The expected time of the partial eclipse in California will be between 9:02 AM to 11:54 a.m., with peak obstruction at 10:22 a.m.

A study by California ISO expects that Northern California will see 76 percent of the sun blocked. In Southern California, the sun will see 62 percent of the sun’s rays blocked in the Los Angeles Basin and 58 percent in the San Diego region.

Electricity from solar photovoltaic and solar thermal will likely be produced throughout the eclipse, but at lower levels than normal.

California has 10,000 megawatts (MW) of installed commercially operational gird connected solar capacity within California ISO’s grid balancing area. The expected loss of power is predicted at about 4,200 MW of California’s large scale solar electricity, according to California ISO.

About 1,400 MW of rooftop is expected to be curtailed, which will add pressure on the grid since it is a backup power source.

In total, more than 6,000 MW of solar power will have to be made up.

The eclipse illustrates how California ISO handles the power demands of the grid. Typically, California ISO ramps down non-solar energy, like natural gas-fired power, when the sun rises. It does the opposite when the sun sets.

During the eclipse, the California ISO will conduct a second, smaller version of the ramp up and ramp down to fill the gap in solar power.

California ISO plans to maintain grid reliability by coordinating with Southern California gas and thermal generators and the state’s hydropower plants to make sure enough resources are ready to handle power needs during the eclipse.

While the ISO has enough energy supply to make up for lost solar production during the eclipse, consumers should always use energy wisely. Conservation is always of value, reduces emissions and makes the grid more reliable.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has a website, caleclipse.org, for more information on conservation during the eclipse. The website a partnership between the California Energy Commission, the CPUC and the California ISO.

The California ISO has a webpage on eclipse-related matters. The webpage includes links to fact sheets, forecasts, safe viewing tips, and a live feed showing the path of the eclipse as it moves across the United States.

The California Independent System Operator (California ISO), one of 10 independent system operators in the United States, maintains a grid that is absorbing more and more renewable energy.

That means the California ISO and the state's aging electric grid is poised for change.

The California Energy Commission, along with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California ISO, is considering a change that would turn the existing grid into a regional grid operation for the West.

A regional ISO opens opportunities to help California reach its energy goals, including increasing the electricity derived from renewable sources to 50 percent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Monitoring the power from the grid now happens at the California ISO’s state-of-the-art facility in Folsom in a control room where a bank of screens arcs across a large wall. It’s the nerve center for the California ISO, which is a nonprofit that manages electricity flow for 80 percent of California’s power grid and a portion of Nevada’s.

It’s a 24/7 operation where engineers sit at semi-circular banks of computer stations monitoring weather, market and grid transmission data screens that Google designed. The information is analyzed in real time.

To facilitate electric transmission coordination and planning, the Energy Commission, CPUC, and the California ISO initiated the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative 2.0, also known as RETI 2.0.

The initiative is designed as an open, transparent and science-based process exploring key issues related to transmission coordination. Issues include the renewable generation resources offered in the West, critical land use issues, environmental constraints and potential transmission opportunities.

The Energy Commission will host its next RETI meeting on July 29. Details about the meeting can be found here.

The insights, scenarios and recommendations developed at the meeting will frame and inform future transmission planning proceedings.

Integrating the 38 balancing regional authorities that make up the state’s power grid is being seen as a major step in bringing the state’s power grid into the 21st century and meeting renewable energy goals.

The CAISO manages the flow of electricity across high voltage power lines that make up 80 percent of California’s power grid, and a small portion of Nevada’s.

In the workshop Energy Commissioner chair Robert Weisenmiller, Public Utilities president Michael Picker plus representatives from the California ISO and other stakeholders met to discuss governance of a regional ISO.

In his introductory remarks Weisenmiller said creating a regional ISO opens an opportunity to change the power sector and would positively impact California’s goals of meeting the state’s renewable energy goals.

“Much of California is operated under an outdated power model,” said Weisenmiller.

Weisenmiller noted that the world has changed significantly in the last 20 years.

“The ability to integrate and dispatch more renewable energy is at our fingertips,” he said. “In California we have established a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard goal, but without a modern transmission planning system in place, we cannot achieve that goal.”

Central to the workshop’s discussion in Sacramento were topics like the creation of a transparent governance model, preservation of state authority, and approaches to creating a board to oversee a regional ISO.

The agenda and the draft governance of the proposal principles for governance of a regional ISO is posted online.

Denver Workshop:
When: Monday, June 20, 2016 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Mountain Time
(12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time)
Where: Westin Hotel Denver International Airport
8300 Pena Blvd.
Denver, Colorado 80249

Remote Attendance
Participation in the workshops can be done through AT&T Connect, an online meeting service. Presentations will be webcast, and can be accessed as audio via computer or telephone. The workshops will be recorded.

Via Computer: Go to http://ems7.intellor.com/login/705365. Audio connection instructions will be available after connecting to the web conference.

Via Telephone Only: (no visual presentation): Please only use this method if unable to participate by web to ensure the ability to participate in Q&A. Call (877) 369-5230. When prompted, enter the passcode 0701839#.

For More Information:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/sb350/regional_grid/documents/index.html