The hottest days may still be to come, although California’s increasingly green energy infrastructure has had an easy summer

The warmest place on Earth, California, has profited from a reasonably cool and stress-free energy supply throughout the hottest summer months in recorded history.

The state’s electricity grid has had an excess of power thanks to renewable energy, battery storage capability, and relatively lower demand as it prepared for triple-digit temperatures. (Photo: Los Angeles Times)

California has rising reliance on renewable energy

This week, as the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) prepares for triple-digit temperatures in the state’s inland valleys and deserts, the grid may be put to the test.

According to experts, California has better positioned itself to face a warming globe while simultaneously maintaining a device-obsessed, climate-controlled lifestyle thanks to its rising reliance on renewable energy and its quickly expanding capacity to store nature’s bounty on lithium-ion batteries, reports NBC News.

Last August, 28% of the energy delivered on an average day came from renewable sources. This number was over 45% in May, the most recent month for which data were available, according to Cal-ISO data.

Deb Le Vine, director of infrastructure for Cal-ISO, revealed last month that the state hoped to connect to more wind power as the board of Cal-ISO approved a plan that may bring up to 3,000 megawatts of wind power from Wyoming later in the decade.

But the grid’s excess is due to more than just renewable energy.

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Analysts: Things could have been worse

In an article from Los Angeles Times, energy demand has been remarkably low despite the deserts and lowlands experiencing high temperatures. The state’s almost 40 million residents, or more than two thirds, reside around the coast, where temperatures have mainly been average or below normal.

Cal-ISO sent out FlexAlert notifications seven days in a row during the 2022 September heat wave. The notifications urge Californians to use less electricity, particularly in the early evening. Analysts caution that despite the megawatts utilized, things could have been worse.

Although Cal-ISO failed to mention a potential tool in its announcement on the week’s heat wave preparations, the lower anticipated demand during that heat wave appears to have avoided any required rolling blackouts that may have otherwise occurred.

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