CPUC authorizes plans to add 18.8 GW of solar, 15GW of battery storage by 2032

• The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has actually with one voice accepted strategies to include greater than 25.5 GW of renewables as well as 15GW of storage in the state by 2032 at an expense of US$ 49 billion.

Accepted recently (10 February) by the CPUC, the strategies will see the state add 18,883 MW of utility-scale solar, around 6,700 MW of wind power, 14,751 MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and also 1,000 MW of need response resources.

Taken with each other, these resources would set you back US$ 49.3 billion and would certainly create a levelised cost of energy of US$ 18.6 c/kWh in California.

The plan embraced a 35 million statistics ton (MMT) 2032 electric industry GHG planning target (38 MMT by 2030), which is much more rigid than the 46 MMT GHG target that was embraced formerly. If become aware, it would see renewable energies make up 73% of the state's energy mix by 2032.

"Today's decision gives instructions for procurement of an unprecedented amount of brand-new clean energy resources. It maintains us on the path toward accomplishing our state's enthusiastic clean energy targets, while guaranteeing system reliability," claimed CPUC commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen.

The CPUC claimed an initial evaluation indicates there is "adequate room for all of these brand-new sources on the existing transmission system, with only restricted transmission upgrades required by 2032", adding that utility-scale battery storage projects were determined as choices to transmission upgrades at a lower expense to ratepayers.

"This finding will certainly be validated at an extra granular level by the California Independent System Driver (CAISO) in its 2022-2023 Transmission Planning Process (TPP)," CPUC claimed.

At the beginning of this month, nevertheless, CAISO launched a report, which CPUC was involved in making, that said the state would require a US$ 30.5 billion investment in its transmission system to accommodate the anticipated 53GW of solar PV that will exist on its network by 2045.

Around the exact same time, the CPUC chose to forever delay its decision on debatable adjustments to the state's net metering regulations after extensive objection of the plans, dubbed NEM 3.0.

Study organisation Wood Mackenzie advised the modifications, suggested by the CPUC in December 2021, would severely decrease property PV's worth suggestion in California, reducing its solar market in half by 2024.