California Surpassed 2020 Renewable Portfolio Standard Target

In 2020, 34.5 percent of California’s retail electricity sales were served by renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind that qualify for the state’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), according to a Feb. 22 report from the California Energy Commission. This is above the state’s 2020 RPS goal of 33 percent, a mark which California surpassed in 2018. All zero-carbon resources, including large hydroelectric generation and nuclear energy, accounted for 59 percent of the retail electricity sales in 2020, slightly lower than the 2019 level of 60 percent.

The RPS mandates electricity providers to meet 33 percent of their supply from renewables by 2020 and 60 percent by 2030. A 2018 law set a target for a 100 percent carbon-free electric grid by 2045. Currently, small hydroelectric facilities up to 30 megawatts are eligible for the RPS program, while nuclear is excluded.

Generation from RPS-eligible resources in 2020 is lower than the 36 percent level reached in 2019 largely because of a 40 percent drop in generation from small hydro sources. The delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also led to a 50 percent drop in new, in-state RPS generation relative to 2019. In 2019, over 60 percent of the state’s electricity came from renewable and zero-carbon sources. California’s RPS requires electric suppliers in the state to use resources like wind and solar for 60 percent of their retail sales by 2030, paving the way to an overall 100 percent clean energy mandate by 2045.

Toward a 100 percent clean electricity future, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal for 2022-23 features nearly $2 billion to support the advancement of clean energy technologies. Funding for long-term energy storage and offshore wind planning are two factors that will be critical in helping cover the gap during the day when the amount of renewable energy drops and demand for energy rises.

Zero-carbon sources like nuclear and large hydropower do not qualify toward California’s RPS, which mostly limits hydro eligibility to produce renewable energy certificates (RECs) for compliance to projects 30 megawatts or smaller. Nuclear power provided around a little less than 11 percent of the state’s electricity in 2020, while large hydro facilities supplied just under 14 percent. While nuclear has been steadily at a 10-11 percent share as far back as 2013, contributions from hydro have been a bit more variable, producing as much as 17 percent in 2017 and 2019 and as little as around 6 percent in 2015. While California’s RPS compliance runs in four-year periods, with the next stretch ending at 44 percent in 2024, regulators track escalating targets for each year within a compliance period. By 2021, utilities are targeting 35.75 percent.