Wind power, solar panels, and Tesla, oh my! After their energy crisis 15 years ago, California has rebounded with a powerful vengeance.
This state has a few goals set for the future: have 33% of their energy come from renewables and cut emissions to 40% under the 1990 level. And they are ready to reach them. Right now, just under a quarter of their energy comes from renewables, 5% from solar power and 7% from wind.
But even with this accomplished, it will take a lot of work to reach their raised emissions and energy goals in their 15 year timeframe.
A few big names are getting in on this renewable action. Since California has such large spaces where renewable energy sources can thrive, Apple and Google have both begun developing systems to take advantage. Apple’s plans include a solar farm to power its California stores. Google is joining an already-in-place wind project and plans to replace a lot of the older, more dangerous turbines with high-efficiency machines.
This is a big step, but it will take a lot of time to expand these energy strides. Renewables are still not at the capacity they need to be — even a full 25% of needed power won’t cut it. Weather is uncooperative, and open spaces are far away from energy storage units, requiring extra wire infrastrucutures.
But this is a huge amount of progress in a decade and a half. We’ll just have to watch and see what comes of it in the next 15 year cycle!
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