California is one of the leading states in the country for the development of renewable energy. [1] In 2002 California created the RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) which was put in place to require certain retail sellers to obtain a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources. [1] The people of the California have been able to acquire significant amounts of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and other renewable sources that put the state on track to require 33% of all electricity come from renewables by 2020. [1] Although California has these certain goals set for the state to achieve in using renewable energy there are still some barriers the state must go through to be successful.
A complication California must attend to is the planning of implementing a new grid systems and necessary updates to achieve this renewable energy future. [1] For instance, California would need to find a way to financially fund the new grid updates. If California can come up with a way to ensure cost effectiveness that could be a solution for this complication. With all the growth of renewable sources in California to achieve the goal of 33% California must do a better job of researching different grid operators that will actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [1] Overall, California is in a decent spot to achieve its goals on renewable energy with continued work from policy makers.
California has the chance to continue its growth of renewable energy and continue to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Although California is making great strides in changing the renewable sources landscape they still must address some of the barriers it faces to succeed in goal. California's growth will be continued to be monitored over the coming years where they look to reach their goal of 33% by 2020.
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[1] E. N. Elkind, "Renewable Energy Beyond 2020: Next Steps for California," University of California, November 2013.