太阳能农场在加利福尼亚的沙漠中盛开，风力涡轮机在山脉上爬上，光伏屋顶在郊区闪闪发光，特斯拉是硅谷精英的新骑行。清洁能源的急速如此迅速地改变了黄金州，以至于其近四分之一的电力来自可再生能源，而新设施，尤其是太阳能，以迅速的速度上线。去年，加利福尼亚成为第一个从太阳中获得超过5％的电力的州。
With its goal of 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 now within reach, Governor Jerry Brown recently raised California’s bar, ordering the state to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below the 1990 level within the next 15 years — the most ambitious target in North America. To meet the new directive, planners say Californians will need to step up their energy transition even more: doubling energy efficiency, boosting electric transportation, and getting at least twice as much of their electricity from renewables. Energy experts caution that it will take effort, but they say it’s doable.
很难记住，仅15年前，该州正经历着能量崩溃。电力价格飙升，供应崩溃并停电，这主要是由于灾难性的放松调节尝试和不道德的市场操纵。快进到2014年，该州的可再生能力升至估计21,000兆瓦, including比所有其他州组合的公用事业规模更高.
那么，加利福尼亚如何在如此短的时间内从混乱转变为清洁电力领导者？从这里去哪里？
“Fifteen years out of a crisis — that’s kind of unprecedented,” said Daniel Kammen, director of the可再生和适当的能源实验室在加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校。“对于全球第七大经济体来说，在十年半内处于如此稳定而良好的气候地位是显着的。”
卡蒙说，加利福尼亚的凤凰城法案源于有利的地理，创新政策和企业的结合，这些政策和企业看到了清洁能源投资的好处。他说：“所有这些公司都在创造财富”，这是整个方程中最基本的一部分。”
With bipartisan support, state legislators a decade ago enacted an ambitiousRenewables Portfolio Standard要求到2020年，加利福尼亚州销售的电力中有33％来自可再生资源。布朗州长呼吁到2030年将该目标提高到50％，他的政府扩大了提高能源效率的努力车辆和可再生能源等措施。
Commercial facilities in the state generate enough clean electricity to power 7 million homes.
自2009年以来，风能生产已经翻了一番，如今加利福尼亚几乎产生6,400兆瓦of wind power, providing around 7 percent of the state’s electricity. Massive new solar farms are also coming online, including two 550-megawatt photovoltaic plants added last year. By the end of 2014, California had roughly5,400兆瓦of utility-scale solar installed and several more facilities, including a new 579 megawatt plant, are slated to open by the end of next year. California also leads the nation in small distributed, or “rooftop,” solar, with more than2,300 megawattsnow installed, and analysts predict continued strong growth through 2016.
On top of that, the state has ample地热能源生产，途中的扩展。总之，根据California Energy Commission，该州的商业可再生能源设施，包括小型水电，现在可以产生足够的清洁电力来为超过700万的加利福尼亚房屋供电，这不包括家庭太阳能和其他较小的现场生产。
The push toward renewables has bumped up electricity prices — Californians pay around 14 cents per kilowatt hour across all sectors, compared to a little over 10 cents nationwide, according to2015年数字来自美国能源信息局。但是由于气候温和和成功的能源效率计划，居民的月度账单实际上是美国最低的账单 - 加利福尼亚人排名第49位能源使用和46th in per-person spending on electricity.
But as California’s clean power goals rise, new capacity could begin to slow. Some planned large projects are now on hold due to financial problems. Others face environmental challenges, such as threats to bird flyways and desert habitats. Large-scale solar plants, particularly those using solar thermal technology, are losing appeal to investors as photovoltaic panel prices plunge. And utilities, having largely reached their current renewable procurement targets, have few new projects in the pipeline. What’s more, the federalsolar investment tax credit新公用事业项目的计划在2016年之后下降到30％降至10％，并完全以个人结束。
Apple和Google最近宣布他们将开发自己的网格尺度可再生能源项目。
尽管存在这些障碍，但仍有许多进取的替代方案。
In the past few months, both Apple and Google have announced they are developing their own grid-scale renewable energy projects. Apple is partnering with FirstSolar to build a 280-megawatt solar farm not far from its Silicon Valley headquarters. The facility, slated for completion next year, will power all Apple stores in California, as well as the company’s offices and a large data center — plus deliver 150 megawatts to the grid. Not to be outdone, Google has bought into a wind project to power its huge Mountain View campus. The company plans to replace outdated turbines that are inefficient and hazardous to birds with fewer, higher-efficiency, bird-friendly machines.
Another new approach is designed to stimulate small, local renewable energy projects. Under this program, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), cities and counties contract with renewable energy producers to tailor their own clean energy supply. Electricity is still delivered through the area utility, which charges a transmission fee, but residents can choose whether to receive up to 100 percent clean energy from the CCA.
该州的第一个CCA，马林清洁能源，于2010年开业，现在为大约165,000个客户提供服务。该计划通过直接从其帮助开发的几个小型当地能源项目中购买，包括在城市机场机库上的太阳能电池板和县垃圾填埋场的沼气，以及与商业太阳能，风能和地热生产商的协议。
加利福尼亚的绿色能源聚集模式现在正在传播到其他州，包括今年夏天在纽约韦斯特切斯特县开始的一个州。本月洛杉矶地区兰开斯特（Los Angeles-Area）城市启动了自己的CCA，与索诺玛县一起将加利福尼亚州的总数提高到三个，进展进展。
为了证明清洁能源在加利福尼亚州的两党呼吁，兰开斯特的共和党市长R. Rex Parris梦想着使他的城市“清洁能源的硅谷”。他的举措包括在这个快速发展的社区中所有新房屋上都需要太阳能电池板，并将电动巴士制造商诱使城镇。
帕里斯热情地说：“我们今年将成为零净。”“我们将产生的电力超过我们使用的。”
除了减慢全球变暖（帕里斯认为批判性的原因）外，他说成为一个清洁能源社区具有财政意义。他说，CCA从太阳能农场的直接购买将为兰开斯特用户节省15％至30％的能源账单。
大量的新能源涌入有可能压倒当前的传输系统。
“The free market is working,” Parris said. “There are my Republican principles!”
加利福尼亚州的三个大型投资者拥有的公用事业公司也将很快开始提供清洁能源的选择。在国家社区太阳能发展下授权, they’ll be required to purchase renewable energy from small, local producers in an effort to encourage such endeavors and let customers choose their own energy mix.
同时，从大学到县垃圾场的不太可能的盟友正在团结起来，并在其物业周围进行新的外观，并着眼于未使用的空间，可以重新使用以进行清洁能源生产。本月早些时候，美国EPA管理员吉娜·麦卡锡（Gina McCarthy）在明年的旧金山湾附近的一个封闭垃圾填埋场，计划于明年进行19,000个太阳能电池板。区域可再生能源采购一组公共机构的安排将成为国家模式。在该计划下，太阳能电池板将安装在186个地点，例如消防局，市政厅，图书馆，大学校园和北加州四个县的卫生区，以产生能源，而不是可以进食网格。
加利福尼亚的能源过渡仍然面临着艰巨的障碍。大量的新能源涌入有可能压倒当前的传输系统。风和太阳能的零星性质提出了一个特别的挑战。此外，许多新能源生产商的偏远位置意味着该州将不得不扩展电线。
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The grid is already starting to experience oversupply episodes when wind and solar produce unexpected bursts of power, which forces the grid to shut down its energy feeds, said Steven Greenlee, a spokesman for the加利福尼亚独立系统操作员(CAISO), the state’s grid regulator. That wastes energy.
为了解决这些问题并实现加利福尼亚的新能源未来的目标，CAISO envisions由车轮上充当电池的私人和大众传输电动汽车的机队 - 当负载太高时插入并吸收了多余的电流，并在供应量下降时通过特殊的充电站将其馈入电网。该计划还呼吁改造该州缓慢的旧传统发电厂或建造新的电厂，这些电厂可以在太阳落山或风死亡时迅速增加产量，然后在这些来源变得活跃时停止。
A third component — a regional electricity-sharing grid where California and its neighbors can cut costs and increase efficiency by offloading surplus or acquiring extra within minutes of peak demand — was launched last year. So far, WesternEnergy Imbalance Marketmembers include parts of Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Wyoming, in addition to California.
达到该州积极的新能源目标可能会提高成本。咨询公司Energy+环境经济学和劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室的最新研究估计，所需的步骤将为每月的家庭账单平均增加14美元。但是伯克利能源教授卡蒙指出，这项努力还将刺激创新，刺激经济并创造就业机会。
Lancaster Mayor Parris agrees. “Once you release the creative forces like that,” he said, “it doesn’t stop.”