Ever wonder what happened to the City’s 100% clean energy study? Well, wonder no more. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is putting the finishing touches on it, and LADWP’s offering a sneak peek at the study’s results in four virtual public meetings this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
The City Council launched the study in 2016 to understand its options for getting to 100% renewable energy – something no big city has ever done before – without risking blackouts or burdening residents with unreasonable energy bills.
But much has changed in the nearly five years since the study was proposed. For instance, solar and wind are now often the cheapest sources of electricity. Also, electric cars are entering the mainstream, all-electric homes are now cheaper to build and operate than ones with natural gas, and it’s starting to look like we’ll have to electrify everything to fix LA’s smog problem. Last but not least, the last six years were the hottest in recorded history. Fortunately, the study appears to include “high electrification” scenarios designed to handle all those changes, judging by presentations available at ladwp.com and the two official overview videos.
You can get into the mood for the meeting by checking out a cute video put together by the folks at Grist.org: “How 100% Clean Energy Could Power Our Cities and Towns.” What it lacks in detail, it makes up for in clarity, conciseness, and simplicity — a quality you’ll treasure after trying to wrap your head around the study’s results (something this author has been trying to do for a while, as a member of the study’s community advisory group).
Be sure to bring your questions and concerns. This is like a dress rehearsal for the meetings that will be held once the study’s done and LADWP has come up with a plan using the study’s findings…and both the community and LADWP need practice at discussing how LA’s power grid needs to change to handle the future.
See http://ladwp.com/cleanenergyfuture for more info and a link to the virtual meetings, which will be held on Thursday, January 21 at 1 and 6:30 pm, Friday, January 22 at 1 pm, and Saturday, January 23 at 10:30 am. (Content will be the same at all four meetings).
About Daniel Kegel
Dan Kegel is a software engineer and a member of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council's Sustainability Committee. He also volunteers with Citizens' Climate Lobby Los Angeles and is an occasional contributor to the Buzz.
