Renewable energy accounted for more than half of California's electricity mix for the first time in 2024 as the state's reliance on fossil fuels reached a record low, according to the latest California Green Innovation Index released Dec. 16.
Renewable energy sources, including large hydroelectric facilities, made up 52.3% of the California grid in 2024, the annual index from the think tank Next 10 showed. That represented a 3.7% increase from 2023.
Fossil fuel-fired generation accounted for 36.3% of power produced, its lowest level on record, the report said, citing California Energy Commission data.
"That is a remarkable progress, considering that just 10 years ago, that share was a hair over half, 51%," Hoyu Chong, author of the report and principal of CEC Economics, a boutique consulting firm specializing in economics and clean energy policy analysis, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.