Grid Infrastructure - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 1: Grid Infrastructure

Barrier Statement

Insufficient and aging infrastructure (e.g. battery storage, smart grid, transmission) cannot adequately support or optimize growing energy demand (e.g EVs, VPPs, AI, data centers, housing), the rapid transition to renewables, abundant day-time energy, and reliability as climate impacts increase.

A Sampling of How Communities are Experiencing this Barrier

California’s distribution and transmission systems are increasingly unable to meet the demands of electrification and climate resilience. Infrastructure built for a different era now faces mounting stress from extreme heat, wildfires, and storms, while grid upgrades proceed reactively without coordinated, long-term planning. Communities experience this as recurring outages and Public Safety Power Shutoffs that disrupt essential services; failed building electrification projects where heat pumps and EV chargers cannot proceed due to insufficient transformer capacity; stranded renewable generation when transmission constraints force curtailment during peak production; prohibitive upgrade costs that make clean energy investments financially unviable; limited energy storage unable to bridge daytime solar abundance to evening demand or provide extended backup during outages; and fragmented planning where utility, local, regional, and state efforts fail to align. Lengthy interconnection timelines addressed in Barrier 1 compound these grid capacity constraints, further stalling clean energy deployment. These challenges disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities facing the oldest infrastructure, longest delays, highest climate vulnerability, and least capacity to finance workarounds.

Filterable Database

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley, San Diego, Statewide

Aging and undersized distribution and transmission systems cannot support the rapid increase in load from EVs and electrification or the pace of new renewable project integration, while being increasingly stressed by climate-driven disruptions including extreme heat, wildfires, and storms.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Statewide

Grid upgrades often occur in a piecemeal, reactive manner without cohesive, long-term planning aligned with electrification and resilience goals, leading to higher costs, inefficiencies, and constrained clean-energy deployment.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Statewide

Energy storage is constrained by limited duration and scale relative to system needs. Current storage solutions are insufficient to shift abundant daytime renewable generation to peak periods or maintain reliability during extended events, constraining electrification and resilience.

Key challenge discussed in - Central Coast

Public fear and NIMBY opposition to battery energy storage systems, compounded by legitimate safety concerns from real incidents, are slowing the buildout of storage infrastructure that communities need both for renewable energy integration and local resilience.

Illustrative Example: The 2024 Moss Landing Vistra battery storage facility fire in Monterey County (which raised serious public health and safety concerns for nearby residents) became a concrete local reference point that participants cited as intensifying community resistance to future BESS siting across the Central Coast region.

Key challenge discussed in - Central Coast

Wildfire-driven PSPS events and storm-related outages are increasing, while the infrastructure investments needed to harden local grids remain under utility control and move slowly.

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Deploy community-scale and behind-the-meter battery storage at critical facilities (schools, shelters, civic buildings) to absorb excess solar and support resilience.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. The Calistoga Resiliency Center is the world's first ultra-long duration hybrid microgrid combining hydrogen fuel cells with lithium-ion batteries. 2. City of Fremont deployed solar-plus-battery microgrids at multiple fire stations through a public-private partnership with Gridscape Solutions and CEC funding. 3. California Tribes like Blue Lake Rancheria and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians are sheparding leading solutions to grid infrastructure limitations and vulnerabilities through innovative microgrid and long-duration storage deployments that address both aging infrastructure and the need for extended backup power during climate disruptions. The CEC has helped to fund projects like these through its EPIC program.

Further Progress Pathways

1. CPUC High Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Proceeding (R.21-06-017): This ongoing proceeding is focused on modernizing the electric grid to accommodate high levels of DERs like solar and storage. 2. CEC's EPIC Investment Plan: The Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program invests in scientific and technological research to accelerate the transformation of the electricity sector to meet the state’s energy and climate goals. The CEC develops a new electricity research investment plan every five years. The fifth investment plan will cover the period from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030 (EPIC 5) and be shaped through a robust public process led by CEC staff.

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, San Diego

Local Solution

Pursue affordable community microgrids and distributed solar-plus-storage systems (including on public buildings, schools, and other community facilities) to build local energy independence at community scale as an alternative to waiting for IOU grid hardening investments that remain outside local control.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. East Bay agrivoltaics + storage project demonstrates that local generation can move forward with early coordination. 2. City of Fremont deployed solar-plus-battery microgrids at multiple fire stations through a public-private partnership with Gridscape Solutions and CEC funding.

Further Progress Pathways

1. Leveraging EV transportation infrastructure within microgrid networks represents an emerging approach to expanding local storage capacity while serving dual transportation and resilience goals. 2.CEC's EPIC Investment Plan: The Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program invests in scientific and technological research to accelerate the transformation of the electricity sector to meet the state’s energy and climate goals. The CEC develops a new electricity research investment plan every five years. The fifth investment plan will cover the period from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030 (EPIC 5) and be shaped through a robust public process led by CEC staff.

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley

Local Solution

Regional governance alignment – Establish regional planning tables so local governments, CCAs, and utilities coordinate grid modernization strategies rather than acting in silos

Existing Examples of Progress:

Clean Power Alliance, a community choice aggregator serving Los Angeles and Ventura Counties targeted low income customers with its first Virtual Power Plant. By partnering with Haven Energy, CPA provided zero -cost solar-plus-storage systems to 300 qualifying low-income customers, creating a 4.8 MWh VPP expected to save $380,000 in resource adequacy costs over three years while advancing energy equity.

Further Progress Pathways

CEC IEPR and SB 100 Reports: The California Energy Commission (CEC) addresses grid infrastructure in its ongoing 2025 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) and the SB 100 Joint Agency Reports, which look beyond just generation capacity to consider the entire electricity system, including the necessary infrastructure upgrades and expansion to ensure a reliable and resilient clean energy grid.

Region(s): Los Angeles, San Diego, Statewide

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

The state should scale demand-side resources (including demand response programs, virtual power plant structures, energy efficiency, and load management standards) to optimize abundant daytime renewable energy and reduce peak demand on transmission infrastructure rather than relying solely on new supply-side infrastructure buildout.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

1. CEC IEPR and SB 100 Reports: The California Energy Commission (CEC) addresses grid infrastructure in its ongoing 2025 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) and the SB 100 Joint Agency Reports, which look beyond just generation capacity to consider the entire electricity system, including the necessary infrastructure upgrades and expansion to ensure a reliable and resilient clean energy grid. 2. CPUC High Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Proceeding (R.21-06-017): This ongoing proceeding is focused on modernizing the electric grid to accommodate high levels of DERs like solar and storage

Region(s): San Joaquin Valley, Statewide

State Solution

Stronger regulation of the Investor Owned Utilities (eg PG&E). Make hearing their rate cases at the CPUC contingent on meeting grid performance and safety goals first.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

CPUC High Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Proceeding (R.21-06-017): This ongoing proceeding is focused on modernizing the electric grid to accommodate high levels of DERs like solar and storage

Region(s): San Joaquin Valley, Statewide

State Solution

Legislature and CPUC should be pushed by local advocates to align on distributed energy investment priorities. It is noted that CPUC cannot act independently of legislative direction and that the real leverage point for grid policy is the legislature, not the regulatory body.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley

Solution Spotlight

California Tribes like Blue Lake Rancheria and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians are sheparding leading solutions to grid infrastructure limitations and vulnerabilities through innovative microgrid and long-duration storage deployments that address both aging infrastructure and the need for extended backup power during climate disruptions.. The CEC has helped to fund projects like these through its EPIC program.

Local governments like the Cities of Calistoga and Fremont are helping to modernize grid infrastructure. The Calistoga Resiliency Center is the world’s first ultra-long duration hybrid microgrid combining hydrogen fuel cells with lithium-ion batteries. Fremont deployed solar-plus-battery microgrids at multiple fire stations through a public-private partnership with Gridscape Solutions and CEC funding.

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Additional Resources

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