California’s Climate Plan Calls for No New Gas-Burning Power Plants

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California regulators announced initiatives Wednesday to speed up the state’s clean-energy transition by cutting demand for fossil fuels by the end of the decade, including ending the construction of new gas-burning power plants — moves that would help combat climate change but could put the state at higher risk of power blackouts.

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While it does not have the force of a legal ban on new gas power plants, its approval would make clear to other state agencies, including the California Public Utilities Commission, the state’s current policy.

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“The climate is changing before our eyes. We need to take action to reduce the worst impacts of a changing climate and there is only one way to do that, break forever our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Liane Randolph, chair of the air board. Yet she cautioned that reaching the state’s targets would be a challenge. The plan “calls for a build-out of renewable energy resources at a rate we have never seen before in this state,” she said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the proposal. “It’s the most ambitious set of climate goals of any jurisdiction in the world, and if adopted, it’ll spur an economic transformation akin to the industrial revolution,” he said in a statement following the plan’s release.

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Though an earlier proposal would have allowed the state to expand its use of gas, regulators said they ultimately struck this part at the urging of climate advocates speaking on behalf of disadvantaged neighborhoods near oil refineries and gas plants.

California’s aspirations of transitioning rapidly to clean energy have been frustrated by the continuing threat of rolling blackouts, especially on hot summer nights when air conditioners are buzzing and the state can’t tap power from solar farms. To keep power flowing, the state has added giant new battery systems that can store the extra energy produced by solar panels during the day.

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In addition, clean-air regulators in September announced a ban on new sales of natural gas heaters, water heaters and furnaces by 2030.

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“The backbone of this transition is going to be having a clean grid,” said Rajinder Sahota, the board’s deputy executive director for climate change and research. Powering millions of cars, trucks and home appliances with electricity will require the state to nearly double its existing electricity generation and quadruple wind and solar power, she said.

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