Note: Renewable Energy includes geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind, wood, and waste. Fossil Fuel Energy includes: coal, natural gas, and all petroleum products. Other Energy includes nuclear and imports.
Data Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, State Energy Data System.
Analysis by CEC Economics
Highlight
- Renewable energy has the fastest-growing fuel source for both electric and non-electric consumption, growing by 36.1 and 119.6%, respectively, between 2012 to 2022.111 In particular, the rapid growth in renewable energy consumption from non-electric consumption is due to increasingly more households using solar as the heating fuel.
111 This includes biodiesel and fuel ethanol as well as non-RPS eligible sources such as conventional hydroelectric. The State Energy Data Systems (SEDS) does not distinguish conventional hydroelectric from small hydro.
Challenge
- Renewable energy for electricity consumption reached its peak in the late 2010s and has since plateaued.112 Solar is the only source where renewable energy for electricity consumption increased—6.8% from 2021 to 2022—as all other sources have either stagnated (hydroelectric and wind) or declined (geothermal and wood and waste). As the economy recovered, fossil fuel consumption in California continued to rise (for electricity and non-electricity) since 2020, although both levels remained below the levels from a decade ago.
112 The EIA has recently updated the calculations of primary energy consumption of electricity generation from noncombustible renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal). Previously, the EIA used the fossil fuel equivalency approach in its calculations. Starting with the 2022 State Energy Data System (SEDS) data cycle, we will calculate consumption of noncombustible renewable energy for electricity generation using the captured energy approach, which applies a constant conversion factor of 3,412 British thermal units per kilowatt-hour (Btu/kWh), or the heat content of electricity. The previous fossil fuel equivalency approach overestimated renewable energy consumption.
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