More Renewable Energy Helps Fight Climate Change

Ninety-five degrees. That’s the temperature that registered on thermometers across Rosemead on April 9. According to the National Weather Service, cities across Southern California Edison’s service territory experienced similar record-breaking heat.

Temperatures across the globe are rising due to climate change and GHG emissions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Greenhouse gases from human activities are the most significant driver of observed climate change since the mid-20th century.” Climate change and its impacts is one of the reasons SCE has been making the move toward more renewable energy sources, such as solar and battery storage.

The Smart Electric Power Alliance has announced that SCE was No. 1 in battery storage and No. 2 in delivering solar energy to its customers. The alliance’s 11th annual survey, which includes more than 400 utilities, determined the top-10 rankings.

Last year, SCE connected 56 megawatts of battery storage to the grid. This includes residential, commercial and utility-supply energy storage. SCE also connected 547 megawatts of solar energy to the grid through new and expanded residential and commercial solar installations as well as through utility-supply sources. SCE has placed among the top-10 utilities for solar every year since the alliance began publishing its solar rankings in 2007.

SCE has connected more than 252,000 residential and commercial customers to the grid. 

“Our customers increasingly want a more renewable energy supply, one that meets California’s climate change goals and contributes to cleaner, healthier air,” said SCE President Ron Nichols. “SCE is pleased to assist customers to invest in their own renewable energy resources as well as our continued efforts to increase the level of renewable energy and battery storage at a utility scale.”

Last October, SCE shared its vision to deliver more clean energy to its customers, meet California’s GHG reduction goals and reduce air pollution. The vision calls for adding 30 gigawatts of additional renewable capacity, including wind, solar, geothermal and hydro, to California’s electric grid by 2030.

The addition of large-scale renewables, along with more than 3,600 of SCE’s customers adding rooftop solar every month, makes energy storage increasingly important. It stores solar and wind energy for when we need it, like when the sun isn’t shining and wind isn’t blowing. Battery storage is a key part of SCE’s strategy to clean the power system. So is supporting a sustainable solar industry and customers who choose to go solar.

It’s likely that the unseasonably warm April is a preview of what’s to come for Southern California later this spring and summer according to the National Weather’s Service’s prediction center. Every year, the impacts of climate change make it more important to integrate clean energy sources into the grid. Clean energy can help mitigate climate change through GHG reductions and improved air quality.

The entire top-10 listings are available online at sepatop10.org.

SCE Energy Storage Facts at a Glance:

• SCE’s Mira Loma battery storage facility can store up to 80 megawatt-hours, enough energy to power 15,000 homes for four hours.
• Last year, SCE had nearly 400 megawatts of energy storage under contract, which is almost double the amount installed in the entire nation in 2015.
• Last year, SCE connected 56 megawatts of battery storage to the grid, equivalent to removing 15,476 cars from the road for a year or 3,601 garbage trucks worth of waste being recycled instead of going into a landfill.

SCE Solar Facts at a Glance:

• In July 1998, SCE connected its first residential solar customer to the electric grid.
• Every year since 2007, SCE has ranked in the top 10 utilities in delivering solar to its customers.
• SCE connects an average of 3,600 solar customers to the electric grid monthly, equal to a solar customer coming online every 12 minutes.
• SCE has connected more than 252,000 residential and commercial customers to the grid.
• Last year, SCE connected 547 megawatts of solar energy to the grid, equivalent to removing 231,839 cars from the road for a year or 16,205 garbage trucks worth of waste being recycled instead of going into a landfill.

Information on SCE’s solar programs can be found at SCE.com/gosolar.