The really interesting thing about electrification is that it’s going to lead to more choice and economic freedom for people, which ironically goes against poli

The really interesting thing about electrification is that it’s going to lead to more choice and economic freedom for people, which ironically goes against political narratives on climate change. To make the grid renewable will require early retirement of stranded fossil fuel generating assets. This will be resisted by utilities because they’ve already financed these assets and are paying off loans based on them. The key to accomplishing more renewables is to open up generation to more market competition. Because photovoltaics are now the cheapest way to generate electricity, and storage costs are dropping at a rate similar to solar ten years ago, most new generation will be renewable. We see this with states that allow municipalities to directly purchase electricity. For example, Marin county CA allows residents to purchase 60% renewable energy at competitive rates, or 100% for $0.01 more per kWh, or residents can opt-out and buy power from PG&E. The more we can decouple utilities from generation, the faster we’ll see grid scale renewables, and the more electrification will make sense.