California generated 97% of its electricity from renewable energy sources on a Sunday afternoon last month.
The state grid’s output from renewables peaked at 3:39 PM April 3, breaking a previous record of 96.4% set just a week earlier, reports Bloomberg Green. Solar and wind resources peak in spring due to mild temperatures and the angle of the sun.
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“While these all-time highs are for a brief time, they solidly demonstrate the advances being made to reliably achieve California’s clean energy goals,” said Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the California Independent System Operator. The state has a target of a zero-carbon power system by 2045.
On an annual basis, California generates 17% of its electricity from utility-scale solar, 8% from wind, 7% from hydropower, 6% from geothermal and 3% from biomass, according to 2021 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
