HOW CALIF GETS 33%

Assessing California's Chances For Meeting Its 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard
Matthew Gray, 4 August 2011 (Solar Industry)

"…Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., signed into law Senate Bill 2, which increases the statutory renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in California to 33% by the year 2020 - up from a goal of 20% by the year 2010…[The] 20% RPS applied only to large investor-owned utilities (IOUs), community choice aggregators and electric service providers. For the first time, S.B.2 extends the new 33% RPS to cover publicly owned utilities…[providing] additional independent demand for renewable energy…

"The new law also recognizes the ongoing challenge of providing electricity from renewable energy resources at affordable rates. It provides for retail sellers to assemble a balanced portfolio of electricity products from various eligible renewable energy resources, including limited amounts from less expensive out-of-state resources…[but] in the final compliance period - from Dec. 31, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2020 - no less than 75% of procurement shall consist of renewable energy sourced in the state…"

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"California is likely to be the largest consumer of renewables for a long time to come…Can the new standard be met? California's progress toward meeting the prior 20% RPS standard is good evidence that the new 33% standard is attainable…[T]he large investor-owned utilities reported that they served 17.9% of their electricity with RPS-eligible generation in 2010. Thus, California is zeroing in…

"…[T]here is a substantial amount of additional renewable energy capacity - much of it large, utility-scale solar - that has been approved but it is not yet online…If those projects can successfully make their way from approval through development, they will make significant progress toward meeting the new 33% by 2020 standard…But the more aggressive 33% RPS does pose significant challenges for California. It will require a massive amount of additional, new renewable power generation and transmission, requiring substantial investment in new project sites and facilities…Brown says that a 40% standard is within California's grasp…"