CA Enacts 100% Carbon-Free Energy Standard

Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 100 into law on Monday, setting in place a 100% renewable electricity target for California by 2045.

The law, which we discussed in our prior blog post here, calls for a state-wide renewable energy target of 60% by 2030, with an interim target of 50% by the end of 2026 and a final 100% target by 2045. At the signing ceremony, Brown also announced an executive order directing California to achieve carbon neutrality, meaning it would remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it emits, also by 2045. The order, which could be rescinded by a future governor after Brown terms out in 2019, instructs the California Air Resources Board to develop a framework for reaching carbon neutrality.

The law will take effect in January, and California will then join Hawaii as the only two states that have pledged to eliminate fossil fuels from their electric grids by 2045.

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