Jerry Brown may want to be governor of California. He also wants to be its newest climate crusader.
Attorney General Jerry Brown is considering a run for Califorina governor. He also wants to become the state's newest climate crusader
The state’s Attorney General, aided by Assembly member Nancy Skinner introduced a groundbreaking bill on Friday calling on California utilities to keep a reserve of electricity stored for emergency use.
The bill may be the first in the country to mandate the use of grid storage – an emerging, yet critical technology in the fight against global warming. As solar and wind technologies are increasingly used to generate power, energy storage become a crucial way to set aside power for when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining.
Brown’s bill appears to be aimed at providing a security net for when the peak demand for electricity spikes, such as on hot summer days when air conditioning is in wide use. California’s energy use is particularly spiky for this reason.
The bill, if adopted, would require utilities to store 2.25 percent of daytime peak demand by 2014 and 5 percent by 2020. In a press release, Brown claims this will lower costs for consumer, since expensive peak-use plants won’t need to be brought online.
It also should accelerate California’s adoption of a smart grid capable of better managing power use and wheeling power both up and down electric lines, instead of just in one direction.
However, storage technologies, such as the use of giant lithium ion batteries, are still at a nascent stage.
