No blackouts or cost increases due to 100 % clean, renewable electricity powering California for parts of 98 days

Mark Z. Jacobson, Daniel J. Sambor, Yuanbei F. Fan, Andreas Mühlbauer and Mark A. Delucchi

Renewable Energy, 2025, vol. 240, issue C

Abstract: Critics of a global transition to clean, renewable electricity argue no wind- or solar-dominated grids exist and solar and wind's variabilities cause blackouts. This paper uses data from the world's 5th-largest economy to show no blackouts occurred when wind-water-solar electricity supply exceeded 100 % of demand on California's main grid for a record 98 of 116 days from late winter to early summer, 2024, for an average (maximum) of 4.84 (10.1) hours/day. Compared with the same period in 2023, solar, wind, and battery outputs in 2024 increased 31 % 8 %, and 105 %, respectively, dropping fossil gas use by an estimated 40 %. Batteries, which shifted excess solar to night, supplied up to ∼12 % of nighttime demand. Wind-water-solar is not the cause of high California electricity prices; to the contrary, most all states with higher shares of their demand met by wind-water-solar experience lower electricity prices. Thus, data support models: a reliable wind-water-solar-dominated large grid appears feasible.

Keywords: Grid balancing; 100 % renewables; Solar; Wind; Batteries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:240:y:2025:i:c:s0960148124023309

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.122262

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