If you live in the City of LA, every time you turn on your AC at home, put your kid on an LAUSD school bus, or flip a light switch in an office building, the power you’re using comes from the LA Department of Water and Power — and by 2035, they plan to provide all of it without a drop of gas or an ounce of coal, just hydroelectric, geothermal, hydrogen, solar, and wind.
Is that realistic?
LADWP tells KCRW the city is already running on roughly 55% renewable energy. In March 2021, analysts determined that LADWP needed to double its renewable energy sources by 2035 to hit its goal (called LA100).
That might sound like a lot, but the department has already taken several steps to get there.
“We've had local solar programs around for over two decades but … 25% of all of that capacity has happened just in the last year and a half,” says LADWP Director of Power System Planning Jason Rondou.
And so Rondou says yes, we are on schedule to hit that goal.
Last year, LADWP brought online a giant wind farm in New Mexico, generating enough energy to power 250,000 homes annually. It’s also actively working on a solar and storage project called Eland in Kern County, which is the largest of its kind in the United States. That was supposed to be up and running by now, but pandemic supply chain issues have pushed back its launch date.
Why is this getting so much attention now?
UCLA just released a report on the utility’s progress to reach their goal, and to reach it in a way that doesn’t harm certain communities disproportionately, such as low-income ratepayers.
Is it doing a good job transitioning equitably?
Yes, at least so far.
A major source of relief showed up after Los Angeles committed to this goal. The federal Inflation Reduction Act has money set aside for cities to help bankroll their transitions to clean energy. LA officials have already applied for grants to help fund LADWP’s transition, and if those applications are accepted, that should help keep ratepayer bills down.
Already LADWP has protections to avoid consequences for increases in electricity rates. If a ratepayer is suddenly not able to pay their bill, the utility won’t automatically shut their power off. Pierce also called for the utility to charge customers based on their income, which is something the state of California is already considering.
“I'm fairly optimistic that the city will get there, but it needs to move really quickly,” says UCLA Urban Planning Professor Greg Pierce, who worked on the report.