New CA smart grid law will help solar and fix the grid by… simply replacing wires
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law directing the state to upgrade its electrical transmission system through use of new smart grid technologies and by replacing old wires with newer, high-tech ones in order to get the state ready for increased renewable electricity generation.
In recent years, there’s been a lot of noise regarding the difficulties of integrating renewable electricity into the grid, and upgrading grid capacity to deal with increased demand from electric vehicles.
These problems are real, but are often overstated by entities who want to keep things how they are – a grid and transportation network that are driven by fossil fuels, rather than renewables.
The issue is that, as renewables make up a larger percentage of grid electricity, there will be more fluctuations in supply due to the intermittent nature of solar and wind generation (and the distributed nature of rooftop solar). The two do complement each other to some extent – the wind tends to blow harder when the sun is down – but there needs to be some sort of backup in the form of consistent base-load generation, and dispatchable electricity to make up for peaks and troughs.
Batteries can help with that dispatchability by being tied to the grid and ready to smooth out those peaks and troughs. And, even when they’re not equipped with vehicle-to-grid technology, electric cars can be charged at times when there is excess electricity available, which means they won’t strain the grid too much during times of peak demand.
But all of this back-and-forth still results in increased congestion on the grid, and with our current “dumb” grid, there’s a prospect of needing to build huge new transmission lines in order to move all this electricity around. That’s expensive, but worse than that, it takes forever to do – beyond the permitting issues involved with construction, there’s always the issue of local NIMBYs who want the infrastructure built, they just want it built somewhere else.
Fortunately, there are solutions to these problems, and California’s new law directs the state to implement those solutions.
California law will upgrade the grid – for cheap
California’s new law, SB 1006, just signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, directs the state to use “grid-enhancing technologies” (GETs) and “reconductoring” to solve these growing pains with the grid.
GETs is just a catch-all term for smart grid solutions that make the grid more capable of managing loads efficiently. These include “advanced power flow control systems” which can channel power to where its needed, “dynamic line rating systems” which monitor local weather conditions to make the grid more responsive, and “topology optimization software” which helps to reroute traffic on a grid much like your phone’s traffic app might do for cars.
Combined, these technologies can reduce grid congestion by 40% or more, and reduce the need for curtailment, which is when renewable resources are available but not transferred to the grid due to congestion. And these can be built quickly and at low cost, without needing to wait for more transmission lines.
In addition to this smart grid tech, a very simple solution goes by the name “reconductoring,” which means simply replacing old wires with newer, lighter ones.
Old transmission wires use heavy steel cores, necessary to hold up the cables over the hundreds of yards they hang between electrical transmission towers. Around these cores, aluminum conductors are used to transmit the electricity.
Due to the weight of the steel, this means that you can only have so much aluminum in the wire. But if we used more modern, lighter, and stronger materials, that means we can add more conductive material and transfer more electricity through the same transmission lines.
So “reconductored” cables use structural materials like carbon fiber, which is much stronger and lighter than steel, and advanced materials that have less electrical resistance than aluminum. And while we’re at it, we can build sensors into the lines to enable the dynamic line rating systems mentioned above.
While carbon fiber is expensive, it’s a lot cheaper than building a new transmission line – adding new capacity through reconductoring is thought to cost less than half as much as adding it through building new transmission lines (California recently got a $600 million grant from the feds for these purposes). And, again, it happens faster too.
All of this should not only increase California’s grid capabilities and make it more ready for the future, it should also lower electricity prices. By reducing congestion and enabling more use of cheaper, cleaner alternatives like solar and wind generation, these upgrades should offer downward pressure on rates.
And, if these upgrades prove to be successful, California could once again provide a model to the country on how to get ready for the electrification future. A report from April said that widespread use of advanced conductors could increase the pace of new transmission capacity by 4x by 2035.
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Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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