Photo: Strauss Wind
New research published in the journal Renewable Energy uses data from the state of California to show that no blackouts occur when wind-solar hydropower exceeds 100% of the state's main grid demand for a record 98 of 116 days from late winter to early summer 2024 on average (max ) 4.84 (10.1) hours per day.
Compared to the same period in 2023, solar power in California is up 31%, wind power is up 8%, and batteries are up a staggering 105%. Batteries provide up to 12% of nighttime demand by storing and redistributing excess solar energy.
And here's the bottom line: California's high electricity prices aren't caused by wind, hydro, or solar power. (That problem is mainly due to utilities receiving wildfire prevention costs, transmission and distribution investments, and net energy metering.)
In fact, researchers from Stanford, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of California, Berkeley found that regions with high shares of renewable energy tend to see. below electricity prices. The takeaway — and the data to back it up — is that a large grid controlled by wind, water, and solar is not only feasible, it's also reliable.
The researchers concluded that:
Despite the rapid growth and high penetration of [wind-water-solar] WWS, the price of electricity during that period has decreased by more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year, and no blackouts have occurred, which gives assurance that the addition of more solar, wind, and batteries should not be a cause for concern.
Mark Z. Jacobson, co-author of the paper and professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the atmosphere/energy program at Stanford University, explained in an email to Electrek:
The paper shows that the main grid in the world's fifth largest economy was able to provide more than 100% of its electricity from just four clean renewable sources: solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal, anywhere from five minutes to more than 10 hours. per day 98 of 116 days during late winter, all spring, and early summer, and 132 days throughout the year 2024, without its grid failure.
The growth of solar, wind, and battery storage, in particular, has caused fossil gas consumption to drop by 40 percent over a 116-day period and 25 percent over an entire year. Compared to 2023, solar, wind, and battery power have increased significantly, and batteries have doubled in capacity.
The paper also shows that California's high electricity prices have nothing to do with renewables; in fact, without the renewal, prices would have been higher.
In fact, 10 of the 11 US states with the highest fractions of their demand financed by renewables have the lowest US electricity prices.
Instead, in California, the price of electricity fell by more than 50% in the interest period between 2023 and 2024, indicating that it was easier to match demand with supply and the increase in renewables and batteries in 2024.
Read more: CA's new smart grid law will help solar and fix the grid by… simply switching cables
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