For some time now, California renewables’ share of the California market has stalled at around one quarter of annual consumption. Worse yet, due to ongoing expansion of renewable capacity (mostly solar), more and more energy is going to waste because the power could not be used at the time it was produced. Currently, the annual wasted energy likely exceeds 10 percent of the total wind and solar actually produced. Renewables in California desperately need energy storage to expand their share of the market
With this in mind, the proposed Morro Bay energy storage facility is critical to the expansion of renewables. If that wasted energy cannot be put to use, natural gas will fill in the gap … as usual. In summary, a vote against the Morro Bay energy storage project is a vote for fossil fuels.
Mark Henry
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Sep 19-29, 2024.