Watch: How Climate Change Impacts Renewable Energy Production

Record low water levels during the 2021 drought forced a temporary shutdown of a hydroelectric power plant at Lake Oroville | Photo by CA DWR
Record low water levels during the 2021 drought forced a temporary shutdown of a hydroelectric power plant at Lake Oroville | Photo by CA DWR

Toward a Disaster Resilient California:

How Climate Change Impacts
Renewable Energy Production

 

A Zoom screenshot of the four panelists with a question box at the bottom
Click to watch on YouTube.

How is climate change impacting California’s renewable energy supply?

Watch our CCST Expert Briefing to learn more about how renewable energy sources can be impacted by changing environmental conditions such as cloud cover, smoke plumes, wind speeds, and precipitation levels. Held February 7th, 2022.

Moderated by:

Susan Wilhelm, PhD
California Energy Commission
Energy-Related Environmental Research

Featuring:

Ranjit Deshmukh, PhD
Environmental Studies | UC Santa Barbara

David Liebman
Energy & Sustainability | Santa Rosa Junior College

Melissa Lott, PhD
Research Center on Global Energy Policy | Columbia University

 

Download the One Pager:
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Further Reading

Wang, M., Ullrich, P., & Millstein, D. (2018). The future of wind energy in California: Future projections with the Variable-Resolution CESM. Renewable Energy, Volume 127, November 2018, Pages 242-257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.04.031 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1bh474f4

Rhoades, A. M., Jones, A. D., & Ullrich, P. A. (2018). The changing character of the California Sierra Nevada as a natural reservoir. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 13,008–13,019. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080308

York, S. (2020). “Smoke from California wildfires decreases solar generation in CAISO” U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy September 30, 2020. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=45336

Aramayo, L., & Hodge, T (2021). “EIA expects U.S. hydropower generation to decline 14% in 2021 amid drought” U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy September 23, 2021. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=49676

Aramayo, L. (2021). “California’s hydroelectric generation affected by historic drought” U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy July 7, 2021. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=48616

The above resources are not meant to be a complete, comprehensive, or exhaustive review of the available literature. Please connect with our CCST Science Services team for any additional information requests regarding your policy issue of interest.

 


Held as Part of CCST Science & Technology Week 2022

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About the California Council on Science and Technology
The California Council on Science and Technology is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established via the California State Legislature — making California’s policies stronger with science and technology since 1988. We engage leading experts in science and technology to advise State policymakers — ensuring that California policy is strengthened and informed by scientific knowledge, research, and innovation.

 

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