My questions on California's goal to run on 100% renewable energy by 2045
So being an intern at the California Energy Commission I've met with many CEC officials and learned about their perspectives on how California will be able to reach 100 percent renewable energy. However, I still find it as a very ambitious plan. I begin to question how much can California advance in 28 years.
How can we provide renewable energy and energy efficient technology to everyone in the state? What about those in low-income and disadvantaged communities? Will the technology be efficient and affordable enough that anyone can access these technologies and run their lives on renewable energy? It costs about $25,000-$35,000 to install solar panels on an average home. Not everyone has the money to invest into solar panels. Alongside the fact that not everyone owns a home in California. About 54 percent of homes are owned in California, meaning about 46 percent of homes in California are being rented. Not all landlords want to invest their own money in installing solar panels. So how are we going to tackle the challenge of providing solar rooftops to homes in need when many homes are not owned personally?
Another question I had was that if California were to meet the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045, that would mean every car owner would have either an electric car or some other alternative fuel car. What would happen to gasoline cars by then? There are currently about 34 million registered vehicles in California and only about 200,000-300,000 cars, if I remember correctly, are electric or alternative fuel cars. How do we rid of essentially 33.7 million gasoline vehicles in 28 years and where would they go? Alongside the fact that other states may still have gasoline cars, are we simply going to ban any gasoline car from entering California? The other question that comes in mind is that the average electric car and alternative fuel car costs around $60,000-$120,000, so how do we reduce the prices of these cars and allow them to be more accessible to the average person?
Anyways, those were the questions that came into my mind. I was wondering if any of you fellow Steemians have your own perspective on how California can make new energy efficient technologies and renewable energy sources more accessible for low-income and disadvantaged communities and just everyone in California as a whole. Also if you have any questions on how it's like interning and the CEC and how it's like meeting CEC officials such as the Chairman Weisenmiller, feel free to ask!
My next post will be a short story so stay tuned!
Sources:
https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-install-solar-on-an-average-us-house/
http://journal.firsttuesday.us/californias-rate-of-homeownership-2/30161/
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/01/20/december-2016-us-ev-sales-2011-2016-sales-figures-state-ev-volumes/
Plus my personal knowledge
Great post. I live in CA too and work on environmental issues. Here is another question to ponder that might help: "What happens if we don't go 100% by then?" Imagine how screwed this planet will be if Californians, Americans, and everyone else are still driving gasoline powered vehicles and burning coal and natural gas in 30 years! I think the answer to many of your questions lies in the fact that solar, wind, and storage costs are plummeting and will continue to do so as they see benefits in scale and further technological advances. I've got a couple recent posts up that show renewables are the same cost or cheaper than coal and natural gas in many locations. Once power companies realize that, they will install renewables at an amazing pace. We don't all need solar on our roofs (though I'd love to see that) to get to 100% (and people or landlords are free to lease solar or allow companies to install solar on their roof).
Humans are terrible at truly understanding exponential growth. Wind, solar, and battery storage adoption are growing exponentially. They could go from a few percent to totaling 100% of our energy in 3 decades easy. If renewables are currently 10-15% of CA energy and have an annual growth rate of 10-15%, that means 4-5 doublings in 30 years which would get us to 100% even if consumption grows.
Something similar will likely happen with electric vehicle adoption. Once people realize fuel and repairs are cheaper with electrics they will choose them. As more people choose electrics, the cost will drop. I also think self-driving technology will lead to fewer people owning cars. Recent surveys have shown something like 10% of car owners don't plan on ever getting another car.