---
title: "California Grid Smashes Record, Gets 67% of Energy From Renewables"
description: "A California grid broke another renewables record, getting more than 67% of its energy from renewables on May 13, 2017. The state is still leading the U.S., but the entire country is making progress with renewable energy."
date: "2017-05-20"
modified: "2017-05-20"
authors:
  - name: "Karla Lant"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/karla"
url: "https://futurism.com/california-grid-smashes-record-gets-67-energy-renewables"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "hydropower"
  - "renewables"
  - "solar"
  - "wind power"
---

# California Grid Smashes Record, Gets 67% of Energy From Renewables

![renewables california wind power solar hydropower](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-610327862.jpg>)
*Golden Hills Wind farm in Alameda County, California is a 85.9 megawatt wind farm with  48 1.7mw GE wind turbines.  The turbine blades have a diameter of 100 meters and can power 25,500 homes.  The project came online in December 2015 and was developed by Nextera Energy Resources for Google. \<em\>Image: \<a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/610327862" target="\_blank"\>Steve Proehl/Getty\</a\>\</em\>*

## California Leading The Way

On May 13, 2017, California smashed through another renewable energy milestone as its largest grid, controlled by the California Independent System Operator (CISO), got [67.2% of its energy](<http://content.caiso.com/green/renewrpt/20170513_DailyRenewablesWatch.pdf>) from renewables — not including hydropower or rooftop solar arrays. Adding hydropower facilities into the mix, the total was 80.7%. Sunny days with plenty of wind along with full reservoirs and growing numbers of solar facilities were the principal factors in breaking the record. The CISO controls 80% of the state's power grid.

These are also the reasons why experts believe 2017 will continue to be a record-breaking year for renewables in California. The state also set a new wind power generation record on May 16, 2017, producing 4,985 megawatts.

“It’s going to be a dynamic year for records,” CISO spokesperson Steven Greenlee [told ](<http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/State-breaks-another-renewable-energy-record-11156443.php>)*[SF Gate](<http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/State-breaks-another-renewable-energy-record-11156443.php>)*. “The solar records in particular are falling like dominoes.”

“The fact that the grid can handle 67 percent renewable power from multiple sources — it’s a great moment, and it shows the potential we have,” Center for Sustainable Energy director of policy Sachu Constantine told *SF Gate*.

## The Renewable Energy Race

There are plenty of races we need to avoid as humans — the arms race, for example — but the renewable energy race is one that is producing nothing but winners across the board. This isn't CISO's first win — it broke its previous record in March 2017 when it [hit 56.7%](<https://futurism.com/renewable-energy-is-shattering-records-in-the-u-s>) of the day's demands with renewables. In September 2016, a California power company [contracted with Tesla](<https://futurism.com/goodbye-blackouts-tesla-just-signed-a-contract-to-power-the-california-grid>) to ensure Powerpacks would keep the state humming during outages. BART, the public transit system in San Francisco, is on track to be running on [clean energy by 2045](<https://futurism.com/by-2045-one-of-the-u-s-s-busiest-public-transport-systems-will-run-on-clean-energy>), and is already reducing its fossil fuel consumption.

While California is certainly leading the nation, other states and cities are following suit. Atlanta will run on [100% renewables by 2035](<https://futurism.com/5-by-2035-atlanta-will-be-using-100-percent-renewable-energy>), and Chicago will power all city buildings with [renewables by 2025](<https://futurism.com/chicago-announces-plans-to-power-its-buildings-with-100-renewable-energy-by-2025>). The Las Vegas government has them both beaten, as it's already [100% powered](<https://futurism.com/the-government-in-las-vegas-is-now-powered-by-100-renewables>) by renewables, and Nevada itself has a goal of [80% renewables by 2040](<https://futurism.com/nevada-pushes-for-80-renewable-energy-by-2040>). Massachusetts will be [100% renewables-powered by 2035](<https://futurism.com/massachusetts-bill-would-require-the-state-to-use-100-renewables-by-2035>), followed by [Hawaii in 2045](<https://futurism.com/hawaii-aims-for-100-percent-renewable-power-by-2045>).

If you'd rather hear about goals that have already been achieved, New York State has increased its [solar use by 800%](<https://futurism.com/new-york-state-increased-its-solar-power-use-by-nearly-800>). Block Island in Rhode Island has just switched [entirely to wind power](<https://futurism.com/the-first-offshore-wind-farm-in-the-u-s-just-shut-down-a-diesel-plant>), shutting down a diesel plant. In fact, experts say that the eastern United States could get [13% of its energy](<https://futurism.com/by-2025-the-eastern-us-could-get-13-of-its-energy-from-renewables>) from renewables by 2025, and we've already experienced days of [more than 50% wind power](<https://futurism.com/3-for-the-first-time-wind-powered-over-50-of-electric-demand-in-the-us>) running the entire country.

Our renewable energy goals are attainable. Look what we've already done.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlalant>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/KarlaLant>)