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California may well be called many things, but "not ambitious" is not one of them. This week, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that commits the state to 100% renewable electricity by 2045 and issued an executive order calling for California to be carbon neutral by the same date .
Good luck.
Of course, California is already generating about one third of its energy from renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. On the sunniest and windiest days, half of the state's energy comes from non-fossil sources.
The state of Hawaii, a handful of cities and even some small countries have withdrawn or committed to fossil fuels, but never on such a scale.
Reaching 100% in such a populated state will be difficult. On the one hand, the sun does not always shine (that is to say at night) and the wind does not always blow. Drought-prone California does not always have an abundance of water resources either – certainly not enough to feed the entire state.
And the largest battery in the world can power about 30,000 homes. It's impressive, but the population of California is around 39 million.
Nuclear energy is not technically renewable, although it would help the state to stay carbon neutral. But South Carolina's $ 9 billion failure to build a nuclear-fueled future shows how expensive and risky it can be to bet a state's energy needs on a single source of energy.
And some estimates suggest that the amount of land needed to power California with solar and wind energy would be impracticable, if not impossible, to obtain. In fact, it could devastate fragile ecosystems, significantly reducing the environmental benefits of renewables.
But the goal of California is always good. At the very least, this could stimulate innovation and reduce the cost of emerging energy technologies.
And really, it is a goal that all states will eventually have to adapt. After all, if a source of energy is not "renewable", it will eventually run out, whether it takes decades or centuries.
Climate change linked to the burning of fossil fuels is an even more imminent threat. Here in Charleston, sea levels are rising and there is evidence that storms can get stronger. If the planet continues to warm up, these challenges may worsen even more.
A 100% switch to renewable energy can cost huge sums in the short term. But in the long run, solar energy is among the cheapest sources of electricity, for example, even compared to options such as coal and natural gas.
Ignoring climate change is also very expensive. In 2017, for example, the United States spent a record $ 300 billion on recovery from natural disasters. Not all weather events can be blamed on climate change, but the destructive power of nature should not be underestimated.
To prepare for a wetter future and deal with existing flood problems, Charleston officials estimate that the city needs about $ 2 billion in new infrastructure. To put this number in perspective, it's the city's entire budget for about 11 years.
And it's a city.
Rather than adopting a future based on renewable energy, South Carolina has made it difficult for homeowners to exploit solar energy. As a southern state, we should make good use of our abundant sunshine, aside from the hurricane season.
But state law limits the number of electric customers who can earn credits on their electricity bills to produce solar electricity. Most utilities are at or near this ceiling, which the legislature has refused to lift until the end of the last session.
Duke Energy, which serves customers in the north of the state, has entered into a tentative agreement to allow more owners to participate, but it is still awaiting regulatory approval and lasts only until the beginning of the year. next year. A legislative patch is necessary to cover the other public services of the State.
South Carolina could also do more to encourage scaling up of renewable energy utilities and efforts to reduce energy consumption.
Maybe South Carolina is not ready to be 100% renewable. California may not be there either, even by 2045. But we should eliminate all the legislative obstacles that prevent the gradual and reasonable adoption of solar energy.
A safe and dry future for the state's coastal cities, including Charleston, could depend on it.
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