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-Editorial
California achieved a significant environmental milestone in 2023, with 67% of the state’s retail electricity sales powered by clean energy sources, Governor Gavin Newsom announced July 14. This marks a historic achievement for the state, which is now the largest economy in the world to be powered primarily by renewable and zero-carbon electricity.
According to newly released data, California’s clean energy mix in 2023 included solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal, and biomass power. The 67% figure represents an increase from 61% in 2022 and 41% a decade ago, underscoring the state’s accelerating transition toward a carbon-free energy future.
In 2024, California added a record 7,000 megawatts (MW) of new clean energy capacity to the grid, the largest single-year increase in state history. This milestone builds on record-setting growth from both 2022 and 2023, highlighting a third consecutive year of rapid expansion.
“For the first time, clean energy provided 100% of the state’s power for at least part of the day nearly every day this year,” Governor Newsom said. “Not since the Industrial Revolution have we seen this kind of rapid transformation.”
State officials emphasized the impact of long-term investments in energy infrastructure. Since 2019, California has added 25,000 MW of new energy resources, primarily from solar and battery storage, aligning with the Governor’s 2023 roadmap, which calls for 148,000 MW of new clean energy capacity by 2045.
California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said the new numbers reflect the mainstreaming of clean energy. “California has achieved yet another major milestone on our journey to a clean energy future,” he said.
Data from 2023 shows that sources under the state’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, such as solar and wind, accounted for 43% of the electricity mix, with large hydro and nuclear each contributing 12%. Solar remains the dominant technology, with over 21,000 MW of grid-connected solar capacity and another 19,000 MW from customer-installed systems.
The state’s battery storage fleet has also expanded significantly, now exceeding 15,000 MW—nearly 20 times larger than in 2019. This infrastructure is used to store excess solar generation during the day and support the grid during evening hours.
California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds credited utilities and local energy providers for rapidly integrating clean resources. “We are bringing renewable energy online at an unprecedented scale and pace never seen before,” she said.
These developments have had a measurable impact on emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power sector have been cut in half since 2009. Overall, California’s emissions have dropped 20% since 2000, even as the state’s GDP has grown by 78%.
California leads the nation in green employment, with more than half a million clean energy jobs, seven times the number of fossil fuel jobs. Solar, wind, battery storage, and grid modernization are among the fastest-growing sectors.
So far in 2025, California’s grid has operated on 100% clean electricity for an average of seven hours per day. According to the California Energy Commission, this translates to 51.9 total “clean energy days,” a 750% increase from 2022.
State leaders say these results demonstrate that California’s clean energy goals are not just aspirational, but increasingly achievable.