RENEWABLE RESOURCES THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA BY
50 percent of California’s electricity to be powered by renewable resources by 2025 and 60 percent by 2030, while calling for a “bold path” toward 100 percent zerocarbon electricity by 2045. (“Zero-carbon” sources include nuclear power, which is not renewable.) The California Energy Commission estimates that 32 percent of retail energy sales were powered by renewable sources last year.
And earlier this year, for one entire month, Portugal produced enough renewable energy to meet its entire electrical demand — although the country did rely on fossil fuels to balance out the periodic disconnect between supply and demand.
NPR’s Planet Money reported that on a sunny day this June, nearly 50 percent of the state’s electricity came from solar energy alone.
Cities like San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles are developing their own policies to make buildings zero carbon, and a number of cities around the world have pledged to do the same. But opponents say the push to get rid of gas goes against what consumers are asking for, especially in their kitchens.
Berkeley, California voted to natural gas in new buildings, starting next year with homes and small apartment buildings. The ban will include other kinds of buildings in the years to come, like high-rises and commercial-space.
As more cities and states try to cut carbon emissions, some are taking aim at a new target: natural gas inside homes. Buildings, through heating and cooking, use almost a third of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. Berkeley, California became the first city in the country to ban natural gas in new buildings, starting next year. City
officials say new efficient electric appliances have lower carbon footprints than gaspowered furnaces and water heaters.