California Offers A Reality Check On Carbon Capture

California Offers A Reality Check On Carbon Capture

A pipe carries emissions to the Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project at the NRG Energy Inc. WA Parish ... [+] generating station in Thompsons, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg





© 2017 Bloomberg Finance LP





An interesting bit of reality-checking lies buried in the California Air Resources Board's recent draft policy report outlining the path to reach the state's 100% clean electricity target. The report focuses on the myriad challenges that California will face in making its electric grid carbon neutral by the year 2045, as required under California Senate Bill 100, and pulls into focus a policy framework to make its clean energy vision come true.



The path forward offers what one might expect. Lots of wind and solar power, plus batteries and an expanded electricity transmission network will likely enable California's clean electricity future. One big question, of course, will be what all of this will cost. CARB concludes that the annual cost of a reliable, fully decarbonized grid will be just over $65 billion in 2045, or 6% more than under the business-as-usual baseline, which is the 60% clean energy renewable portfolio standard the state is