SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) According to the 2021 SB 100 Joint Agency Report published by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission pursuant to the 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 (Chapter 312 of the Statutes of 2018), to reach the target of requiring renewable energy and zero-carbon resources to supply 100 percent of electric retail sales to end-use customers by 2045 while electrifying other sectors to meet the state’s economywide climate goals, California may need to roughly triple its current electrical grid capacity.
(b) The 2021 SB 100 Joint Agency Report further states that California may need to sustain its expansion of clean electricity generation capacity at a record-breaking rate for the next 25 years. On average, the state may need to build annually up to six gigawatts of new renewable energy and storage resources.
(c) In addition to social benefits such as less air pollution and improved public health, the transition to a carbon-free electrical system will also create thousands of jobs, including jobs manufacturing and installing wind turbines and solar panels, and jobs developing new clean energy technologies.