California achieves historic milestone with two-thirds reliance on clean energy

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California achieved a significant milestone by being powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023. This makes California the largest economy globally to reach this level of clean energy utilization. The state reported that 67% of its retail electricity sales came from renewable and zero-carbon sources, up from 61% the previous year.

In 2024, California added a record-breaking 7,000 megawatts (MW) of clean capacity to its grid, marking the largest single-year increase in state history. "As the federal government turns its back on innovation and commonsense, California is making our clean energy future a reality," said Governor Newsom.

California's investments over the past 15 years have significantly contributed to new clean energy generation development. Greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 20% since 2000 while the state's GDP increased by 78%. Emissions from electric power have been cut in half since 2009.

The state leads in clean energy jobs with more than half a million green jobs, seven times more than fossil fuel jobs. Solar and wind account for most green jobs, with battery storage and grid modernization as fast-growing sectors.

Since 2019, California has added a record of 25,000 MW of new energy resources statewide. "California has achieved yet another major milestone on our journey to a clean energy future," said CEC Chair David Hochschild.

Sources under the Renewables Portfolio Standard made up 43% of the power mix in 2023. Large hydro and nuclear power accounted for an additional combined total of 24%. "We are bringing renewable energy online at an unprecedented scale," said CPUC President Alice Reynolds.

Solar technology represents the largest installed renewable capacity with over 21,000 MW operating on the grid. The state's battery fleet now stands at over 15,000 MW—an increase of nearly twentyfold since Governor Newsom took office in 2019.

More than nine out of ten days this year have seen California powered by clean energy for part of each day. In total, data shows that clean energy has powered about one-third of the year so far.