Kern plays biggest role as California taps renewable energy to avoid blackouts

May 28—Except for last week's reminder, so much happens in Kern's energy transformation lately it's easy to forget the county's sizable lead in California solar and wind energy production.

State officials released predictions Thursday that California probably won't suffer any power outages this year, for two reasons: Snowmelt will produce record hydroelectric power, while additional solar and electric generation and battery storage continue to come online. Caveats mentioned were wildfires cutting off transmission, and excessive heat.

No doubt Kern deserves much of the credit if California avoids a repeat of August 2020's rolling blackouts. The county provides almost a quarter of the state's official renewable energy portfolio, according to the latest data from the California Energy Commission. Second-place Imperial County accounted for just 57% of Kern's 16,028 gigawatt hours of renewable power in 2021.

As rising temperatures this summer and fall increase demand, Kern can be counted on for hydroelectric power from Isabella Dam, which falls into a separate category called zero-carbon energy. But the bulk of the county's contribution will come from the county's roughly 50-50 lineup of photovoltaic solar arrays and wind turbines.

Lots more is on the way locally. At a time when industry players in the county's valley portion turn to carbon storage and greater renewable fuels production, major solar and wind investments are being made in eastern Kern, where transmission capacity remains available and developers receive uncommon regulatory certainty.

The county's top energy permitting official, Director Lorelei Oviatt of the Planning and Natural Resources Department, highlighted Kern's "significant" role in state officials' optimistic outlook for 2023.

She noted by email Friday the largest of many solar developments to be permitted in Kern or become operational early this year or late last year, the Edwards-Sanborn Solar + Storage project, will generate 1,118 megawatts of solar and provide 2,165 megawatt-hours of energy storage. One megawatt powers between 350 and 750 homes; a megawatt-hour does so for an hour.

"Kern County will continue to provide the solutions the state needs with over 150 MW of wind under construction, as well as over 1800 MW of already permitted solar and 1800 MWh of battery storage moving into construction," she wrote. "Another 3000 MW are in the environmental review and permit processing stage."

Released Thursday, along with high-level assurances on grid resiliency embargoed from the day before, was an announcement by the California Energy Commission that more than 37% of California's electricity came from California's renewable energy portfolio in 2021 — a year-over-year increase of 2.7%, it said.

Nearly 59% of the state's electrical power came from non-fossil fuels, the commission reported, unchanged from 2020 because of drought-related strains on hydroelectric generation.

"This latest report card shows California continues making significant progress toward a 100-percent clean electrical grid of the future that leaves dirty fossil fuels in the past," stated Commissioner Noemí Gallardo, lead commissioner on renewable portfolio compliance.

She noted the California Independent System Operator, which runs the state power grid, reports battery storage capacity has increased nearly 20 times since 2019 to 5,000 mw. It projected by 2050 there will be more than 10 times that amount as the state works to meet its climate goals of 100% renewable energy by 2045. County-specific data on storage capacity was not available.

Last year, record demand exceeding 52,000 megawatts pushed the state power grid to its limits. Officials credit the lack of rolling blackouts to use of strategic reserves and flex alerts that urged consumers to conserve.

They had warned of possible blackouts going into summer. But this year they're more confident of having enough power to make it through the heat of summer and early fall.

California ISO's vice president of transmission planning and infrastructure development, Neil Millar, told reporters Wednesday of "considerable improvement" going into the summer as compared with a year ago.

More than 8,000 megawatts of new capacity will be in place by September, plus 3,000 more megawatts of storage, Millar said, adding that hydroelectric conditions this year are pegged at 2 1/2 times the state's average.

The state warned a year ago of a power shortfall of about 1,700 megawatts by Sept. 1, he added. This year it projects a 2,300-megawatt surplus.

Officials credited the improved outlook to the wet winter, hard work by state agencies and lessons learned from last year that it needed to shore resources and put contingencies in place. No mention was made of county-by-county contributions.

Even so, Vice Chairman Siva Gunda of the Energy Commission emphasized weather extremes "remain a wildcard" and that wildfires could yet cut off thousands of megawatts of transmission. He said California still needs more wind and solar resources, but that for now, "everything's coming along."

President Alice Reynolds of the California Public Utilities Commission urged residential and business ratepayers to sign up for flex alerts and be ready to cut back consumption between 4 and 9 p.m. by avoiding use of dishwashers and washing machines.

Reynolds suggested pre-cooling homes, enrolling in a no-penalty power saver awards program and considering investing in high-efficiency appliances. She said don't be surprised if a flex alert goes out anyway.

Oviatt's email said a big challenge the state faces in reaching 100% renewable energy by 2045 is utilities' failure to keep up with infrastructure needs.

Oviatt stated she hopes Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent pledge to tweak the California Environmental Quality Act for the sake of clean energy projects leads to "real CEQA reform," and that the state helps streamline local government permitting.

A feisty pride came through in her email about Kern's role in helping the state get through September.

"Kern County, and other local governments," she wrote, "continue to be on the ground actively permitting and finding solutions for barriers to implementation while the state agencies put out reports," she wrote.