How are we doing?
Renewable energy and storage received a thumbs up because distributed solar electricity generation in San Diego County increased, reaching a cumulative capacity of 1.9 gigawatts, the highest among California counties. The region also saw increased uptake of energy storage, both distributed and grid-scale. Energy storage is vital to increase reliance on renewables because renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are variable and intermittent.
Rating: Improving
Installed solar capacity ranked top among California counties
Grid-scale renewable energy and storage
In September 2018, California adopted SB100, the 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018, which increases the current mandated renewables portfolio standard (RPS) from 50% renewables to 60% renewables by 2030 and establishes a state policy of 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045. Three years later in September 2022, California adopted interim clean electricity targets of 90% by 2035 and 95% by 2040 to make sure the state is on the trajectory to achieve the 100% clean electricity target.
The apparent decrease in renewable content since 2018 is due to a revised methodology from the California Energy Commission. The method is revised in order to be consistent with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting method. With this update, if the renewable energy attributes of electricity (known as renewable energy credits, RECs) are not procured and delivered together (bundled) to the customers, they will no longer count towards a utilities’ eligible renewable in the power source disclosure program. Previously, a certain amount of RECs could be purchased ubundled to effectively offset emissions from grid supply and count towards the utility’s renewable portfolio standard. Now, any unbundled RECs must be reported separately, and they do continue to contribute to greenhouse gas reduction elsewhere.
Due to this accounting change, the eligible renewable content in SDG&E’s portfolio changed from 43% in 2018 to 31% in 2019 with an additional 7.8% of SDG&E’s electricity sales covered by unbundled RECs. In 2020, 31% of SDG&E’s portfolio was renewable and 9% unbundled RECs. Of the other two investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in California, PG&E had 31% eligible renewable and 2% unbundled RECs in 2020 and Southern California Edison (SCE) had 31% renewable and 3% unbundled RECs in 2020.
Apart from the default electricity portfolio offered to customers, all IOUs have programs where customers can opt-up to higher renewables at a premium cost.
Utility scale energy storage systems, which are large energy storage systems managed by electric utilities (rather than by customers), combined with renewable energy can help utility companies manage energy supply and demand with flexibility and reliability. Under AB 2514, the California Public Utilities Commission set a statewide energy storage target of 1,325 megawatts (MW) by 2020. SDG&E's energy storage target is 165MW. In 2020, SDG&E was 6 MW short of its target but plans to meet the target by 2021. The other two IOUs, PG&E and SCE, have enough energy storage contracts in place to meet their respective AB1524 targets.
In 2016, California passed AB 2868 that builds on the previous storage mandate with a requirement for 500 MW distributed behind-the-meter storage.
Distributed-scale renewable energy and storage
In the SDG&E service area, which includes San Diego County and a small portion of Orange County, a little over 30,000 new solar PV systems were installed in 2021, an increase of 8% from 2020. All the new systems added 250 MWs of solar capacity. The majority of the new installations and new capacity in 2021 were from residential rooftop solar systems. In 2021, the City of San Diego was ranked second highest among major cities in the nation in total solar capacity, and third highest in per capita solar capacity.
San Diego County had the highest total solar capacity among counties in California with over 1.9 GW installed as of December 2021.
The California Public Utilities Commission's Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) has been one of the most successful distributed generation incentive programs in the country, operating since 2001. Over the years, the program has adapted to complement the transition to a low-carbon economy and incentivize distributed energy resources, including energy storage, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
This chart shows the number of applications submitted for customer side storage incentives through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). SGIP has been helping California lead the nation in residential battery storage deployment by providing an upfront rebate based on the amount of energy stored in the battery. The significant increase in the number of applications and capacity in 2020 was due to an increase in residential battery storage, especially storage coupled with on-site solar systems. Residential battery storage systems represent 95% of the SGIP applications and 44% of the battery capacity in 2021. The total number of applications has dropped since 2020, but residential battery storage systems still represent over 95% of all applications.
Why is renewable energy and storage important?
High quality of life means the region boasts a thriving economy, a healthy environment, and an equitable place for all San Diegans to grow and prosper.
Economy
This California Energy Commission's analysis shows that the 2019 building energy efficiency standard’s PV requirement will save families thousands of dollars over the first decade of ownership. The reduction in energy bills due to the solar PV system exceeds the corresponding increase in mortgage payment for a new home, by around $35 per month on average.
Environment
Shifting to renewable energy is one of the main strategies to avoid future greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. When coupled with energy storage, renewable sources provide a continuous energy supply, increasing system reliability and cost-effectiveness.
Equity
Distributed generation, small-scale renewable technologies that produce electricity close to the end user, makes the region more resilient to power outages. Power outages, including the prevalence of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) during the 2019 wildfire season throughout the state, led to 60% of the new expanded SGIP being dedicated to “Equity Resiliency” projects for low-income customers, those who live in high fire risk areas, those who experienced PSPS events on two or more distinct occasions, and critical facilities that provide services to these affected areas. These incentives are expected to cover the entire installed cost of any residential energy storage system available.
Regional Response
Policies
In the San Diego region, nearly all recent Climate Action Plans have measures mandating the use of photovoltaic (PV) systems – these measures are in addition to and greater than state PV mandates. The region has the capacity and potential for increased local PV generation.
Projects
In 2021, the City of San Diego contracted with Shell New Energies to build renewable energy microgrids, at eight municipal facilities, including recreation centers, police stations, and fire stations. Renewable energy microgrids are PV systems combined with batteries that can reduce utility costs and increase power reliability. The PV systems will power the facilities and in the event of power shutoffs, the battery systems will provide electricity.
Partnerships
The most recent major regional response to accelerating renewables used for electricity generation comes from the development of Community Choice Energy programs (CCE) which are locally run joint power authorities supplying electricity with higher renewables.
Two CCEs were launched in 2021. The San Diego Community Power (SDCP), launched in March 2021, is currently serving customers in the cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, and San Diego. Service to the unincorporated communities of the County of San Diego and the City of National City will begin in 2023. The Clean Energy Alliance, launched in May 2021, serves the cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, and Solana Beach.The cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido will be joining in 2023 through 2024.
Residents and businesses in these cities are automatically enrolled in the CCE programs with a higher renewable energy alternative than the current utility, SDG&E.
What are we tracking?
We measure renewable energy by tracking the number and capacity of new solar installations and the increase in incentivized energy storage projects in the SDG&E service territory. We also track the historical trend of renewable energy as a percentage of SDG&E sales, as well as the progress of SDG&E meeting its energy storage targets.