Great interview! As a CA resident, I can't imagine voting for anyone else. BTW, are you aware of what's been happening in the Westlands Water District near Fresno CA? They're now creating a local ag-based utility to build new transmission to connect massive new solar +BESS to existing PG&E transmission. They're talking about building solar on the scale of China on fallow Central Valley CA ag land. This is where there have been roadside signs on the I-5 freeway blaming Nancy Pelosi for creating a “California Dustbowl”! for decades.
I believe Westlands has built or have under construction 2.5 GW already, so this is not hand waving hopium, and the plans are for 20 GW total. They've mapped out the appropriate transmission and land. Here in CO, we have some large areas with similar possibilities, but the irrigation districts are late in getting the message.
CA's electric inflation flattened out last year in the summer particularly it was down to 1% YoY. As far as I can tell this is the result of big annual additions of large-scale solar and BESS, mostly on similar dry, or dried lands.
CA's electric consumers are paying for a lot of other issues, but they did do us all a favor by paying for some expensive early wind and solar project output and scaling those and rooftop PV. Now they have fire mitigation, etc. added to prices which we are just starting to see in CO.
CA has also apparently started buying power from the 3 GW SunZia wind farm in NM, via the HVDC powerline of the same name. I'm not sure if it's "cheap" with that included, but I've been to the site and it's a howling great wind resource every time I go and admire the 4.5 MW turbines.
CA already has record high fossil fuel prices that won't be coming down for the foreseeable future. Fossil fuel transportation is the largest contributor to carbon dioxide pollution in the state. And it's also the easiest pollution source to rapidly abate, as China is already demonstrating by it's rapid transition to EV cars & commercial trucks. They've accomplished this by FIRST building out widely distributed, ubiquitous charging infrastructure in populated areas. France and South Korea have already adopted the same strategy, by mandating solar parking lot canopies at ALL existing parking lots over 80 spaces, nationwide, within 3 to 5 years, largest lots first. Just make them all 20-year airspace leases that include non-flammable BESS +Vehicle-2-Grid chargers, and that's how you electrify transportation,....FAST!
I think that all of the 70,000,000 plus EVs on the roads, worldwide, have peaked gasoline as gasoline is declining. Likewise, all of the solar and wind power with battery storage installed worldwide has peaked natural gas as natural gas is declining. Thus, these declines in the increases/yr of the GHG, CO2 ppm have cooled the world so that the increases of temperature/yr have fallen too. We have beat the oil companies from all of the 100s of GW of RE installed plus storage, worldwide in the last 2 years, and all of the cheap EV batteries being used instead of gasoline. Utilities have installed hundreds of GW of solar, wind, and batteries as well as BTM RE installations. Thus, stopping the use of H2, which is 99% produced by electrolysis from grey, natural gas sources, instead using more efficient batteries to store energy, the world of RE plus storage has come to fruition.
I hate to say it but I was more impressed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan talking with Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi on a recent Zero podcast. He's still making it a point to say "climate." Also affordable housing issues in London. Interesting contrast. I wish Tom good luck! I know "local" solar is more popular, but it's really utility scale solar and BESS that's working in CA right now, along with slowing down the overcompensation of rooftop solar. To make up for that, the solar biz needs cheap panels and reduced overhead.
Super positive AND feasible. Really refreshing to have a gazillionaire who sorta kinda gets the affordability crisis, or at least fakes it way better than most politicians who've never seen the inside of a bus.
Great interview! As a CA resident, I can't imagine voting for anyone else. BTW, are you aware of what's been happening in the Westlands Water District near Fresno CA? They're now creating a local ag-based utility to build new transmission to connect massive new solar +BESS to existing PG&E transmission. They're talking about building solar on the scale of China on fallow Central Valley CA ag land. This is where there have been roadside signs on the I-5 freeway blaming Nancy Pelosi for creating a “California Dustbowl”! for decades.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/were-harvesting-the-sun-solar-project-california
I believe Westlands has built or have under construction 2.5 GW already, so this is not hand waving hopium, and the plans are for 20 GW total. They've mapped out the appropriate transmission and land. Here in CO, we have some large areas with similar possibilities, but the irrigation districts are late in getting the message.
CA's electric inflation flattened out last year in the summer particularly it was down to 1% YoY. As far as I can tell this is the result of big annual additions of large-scale solar and BESS, mostly on similar dry, or dried lands.
CA's electric consumers are paying for a lot of other issues, but they did do us all a favor by paying for some expensive early wind and solar project output and scaling those and rooftop PV. Now they have fire mitigation, etc. added to prices which we are just starting to see in CO.
CA has also apparently started buying power from the 3 GW SunZia wind farm in NM, via the HVDC powerline of the same name. I'm not sure if it's "cheap" with that included, but I've been to the site and it's a howling great wind resource every time I go and admire the 4.5 MW turbines.
CA already has record high fossil fuel prices that won't be coming down for the foreseeable future. Fossil fuel transportation is the largest contributor to carbon dioxide pollution in the state. And it's also the easiest pollution source to rapidly abate, as China is already demonstrating by it's rapid transition to EV cars & commercial trucks. They've accomplished this by FIRST building out widely distributed, ubiquitous charging infrastructure in populated areas. France and South Korea have already adopted the same strategy, by mandating solar parking lot canopies at ALL existing parking lots over 80 spaces, nationwide, within 3 to 5 years, largest lots first. Just make them all 20-year airspace leases that include non-flammable BESS +Vehicle-2-Grid chargers, and that's how you electrify transportation,....FAST!
I think that all of the 70,000,000 plus EVs on the roads, worldwide, have peaked gasoline as gasoline is declining. Likewise, all of the solar and wind power with battery storage installed worldwide has peaked natural gas as natural gas is declining. Thus, these declines in the increases/yr of the GHG, CO2 ppm have cooled the world so that the increases of temperature/yr have fallen too. We have beat the oil companies from all of the 100s of GW of RE installed plus storage, worldwide in the last 2 years, and all of the cheap EV batteries being used instead of gasoline. Utilities have installed hundreds of GW of solar, wind, and batteries as well as BTM RE installations. Thus, stopping the use of H2, which is 99% produced by electrolysis from grey, natural gas sources, instead using more efficient batteries to store energy, the world of RE plus storage has come to fruition.
Just no!
Super helpful as we assess our candidates for governor here in CA. Thank you!
I hate to say it but I was more impressed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan talking with Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi on a recent Zero podcast. He's still making it a point to say "climate." Also affordable housing issues in London. Interesting contrast. I wish Tom good luck! I know "local" solar is more popular, but it's really utility scale solar and BESS that's working in CA right now, along with slowing down the overcompensation of rooftop solar. To make up for that, the solar biz needs cheap panels and reduced overhead.
Super positive AND feasible. Really refreshing to have a gazillionaire who sorta kinda gets the affordability crisis, or at least fakes it way better than most politicians who've never seen the inside of a bus.
How Tom Steyer Could Actually Reduce Electric Rates by 25% by Jim Lazar.
Jim Lazar authored an article on how Tom Steyer could keep his campaign promise to reduce CA IOU rates by 25%. Jim is an economist with more than 40 years of experience in utility rate making and resource planning. IOUs gouge ratepayers for shareholders. https://www.energycentral.com/energy-biz/post/how-tom-steyer-could-actually-reduce-electric-rates-by-25-a0Mmteeb9NedkmO
I also hope he triples the incentives for heat pump HVAC and water heaters