One of the main reasons that California’s so far ahead of schedule is because clean energy such as solar, and wind power have become a lot more economical with technology improving and prices being reduced. The state has become an innovator and leader in the manufacture of clean energy tech. Many other jurisdictions, including other countries, are looking towards Californian as an example of how to move towards a world free of fossil fuels.
A Brave New Path
The state of California isn’t ready to abandon natural gas altogether, but it’s probably only a few years away. Building new plants designed to last at least 30 to 40 years at a cost of millions of dollars doesn’t seem to make sense. A better solution may be to continue to maintain the capacity that it has and speed up the move towards renewable energy even further. If California does decide to make its decision to halt the construction of any new natural gas plants permanent, it can act as an example that pushes other states facing serious air quality problems to follow its lead.
