CA Current

Zero emissions trucks, both electric and fuel cell models, will be coming to California in large numbers under a rule the California Air Resources Board debuts this week. Utility regulators allege SoCal Gas committed hundreds of safety violations at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field as the utility attempts to quash a subpoena in […]

The California Air Resource Board Dec. 12 held an initial hearing on draft standards to require truck makers to begin selling electric- and fuel cell-powered “zero emissions” trucks in the state beginning in 2024. “This is the first such effort in the world,” said Air Board Chair Mary Nichols. The aim is to cut emissions […]

California utility regulators late last week detailed 335 alleged violations of health and safety standards by SoCal Gas that led up to the massive well blowout and methane leak in 2015 at the utility’s Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field near Los Angeles. The alleged violations found by the California Public Utilities Commission dated back […]

San Bernardino’s County Board of Supervisors Dec. 10 turned down a bid to derail a 650 MW solar power project in Daggett. The 650 MW solar plant, which is being developed by Clearway Energy, will cover 3,500 acres of high desert land and is to include 450 MW of battery storage.  The Newberry Community Services […]

Controversy over a Los Angeles Department of Water & Power decision to replace a 1,800 MW coal-fired power plant in Utah with a smaller natural-gas-fired unit may result in an environmentally friendly overhaul.  The muni is considering running the planned combined cycle generating facility with renewable hydrogen. Under a plan discussed by the muni Dec. […]

There is substantial support among California voters for changing Pacific Gas & Electric’s ownership structure, according to poll results released Dec. 10. “A large majority of California registered voters favor changing the way the state’s largest public utility, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, operates,” said Mark DiCamillo, University of California at Berkeley Institute for […]

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power last week denied that its equipment started the destructive Creek Fire, which ignited in the Angeles National Forest on Dec. 5, 2017. The muni issued the denial after the federal government filed a court complaint against the muni seeking to recover $40 million in firefighting costs. The […]

U.S. subnational organizations are on track to cut carbon emissions 25 percent below their 2005 levels by 2030, according to a report released this week in conjunction with the international climate talks in Madrid. Accelerating America’s Pledge by the group America’s Pledge claims that by ramping up their efforts, subnational groups alone could cut U.S. emissions […]

Pacific Gas & Electric late last week resolved the last of the major wildfire claims against it, potentially clearing the way for it to finalize a bankruptcy reorganization plan. PG&E on Dec. 6 agreed to a $13.5 billion settlement with wildfire victims. Under the deal with the Official Committee of Tort Claimants and firms representing […]

A carbon tax is the talk of the town this week. Republican members of a House panel insist it would be a cost without a benefit because global action is critical. In response, their Democratic brethren chastise them for not partaking in the ongoing UN climate talks. Solar-powered microgrids paired with battery storage can keep […]

In the midst of the United Nations Climate talks in Madrid, Spain, a House committee explored the appropriate price tag to place on a carbon tax as a means of curbing greenhouse gases. The optimal price was said to range between $25 to $100 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. Two of the four professors […]

The head of Pacific Gas & Electric, Bill Johnson, warned that public safety power outages may continue for a decade in areas facing high wildfire risk. It’s been estimated that the power shutoffs in Northern and Central California could cost the state economy about $2 billion. Those impacted are frustrated and so too are policymakers […]

The often forgotten middle child of the clean energy family, energy efficiency, shared center stage with other carbon emissions cutting measures targeting California homes and commercial buildings. Energy efficiency has “a lot of ties with decarbonization,” said Commission Andrew McAllister during the CEC’s Dec. 4 workshop on cutting greenhouse gases from buildings 40 percent by […]

Opportunities and barriers to energy storage deployment in order to green the grid in California and Europe are the focus of a California Independent System Operator report. “Accelerating the spread of energy storage will propel a renewables-based energy system–alongside increased flexibility options and a better use of (existing) infrastructure–and subsequently help reach ambitious Paris Agreement […]

The California Public Utilities Commission’s Safety & Enforcement Division found that a faulty hook on a Pacific Gas & Electric transmission tower, which initially sparked the 2018 Camp Fire, was a known hazard. The fire burned down the City of Paradise. The safety division also found the worn tower that started the Camp Fire was […]

Cannabis cultivation is and will continue to drive up electricity consumption in California. It is expected to add 1,600 GWh of new load over the next decade, according to the California Energy Commission. Demand from pot growth, largely energy-intensive indoor cultivation, is estimated to increase energy use in Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California […]

Updated Dec. 5 The California Air Resources Board Dec. 5 adopted rules that seek to reduce carbon and toxic air emissions at California’s major ports. The regulations were driven by the serious health impacts on overburdened, low-income communities surrounding the areas. The new standards focus on emission reductions from berthed ships and other vessels. One […]

Renewable energy can flow more freely and in bigger quantities from Nevada to California with the commissioning earlier this month of GridLiance’s 230-kV Sloan Canyon Switching Station. The facility is approximately 40-miles outside of Las Vegas in Boulder City, Nevada. GridLiance’s Sloan Canyon Switching Station is part of a larger $50 million transmission improvement project […]

The Sunrise Movement is mounting a pressure campaign toward Bright Power—a New York solar company with operations in Oakland—that laid off workers for trying to form a union. The union would have been one of the first ever to form at a solar company, according to Evan Weber, Sunrise Movement political director. The company has […]

House Democrats last week backed a bill, H.R. 5221, to create a 100 percent clean economy by 2050 with six lawmakers introducing the measure and more than 150 members signing on as co-sponsors. The measure, known as the 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019, directs federal agencies to craft plans to achieve “net-zero climate pollution” […]