How LA is putting the public first in its energy transition

After the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power asked NREL to help them figure out what would it take to get LA’s entire grid running on 100% renewable energy by 2045, their study called the LA100 said it wasn’t just possible to make the switch; it was possible to do it a decade sooner. 

So LADWP changed their goal. Instead of converting the grid by 2045, they’d do it by 2035. The scale of that transition is immense. Almost 4 million residents live within the city limits. Pulling it off would make LADWP the largest municipal utility in the country to run on 100% renewable energy.

As director of power system planning at the utility, Jason Rondou and his team are tasked with figuring out how to deploy hundreds of gigawatts worth of wind, solar, and long term storage to meet the city’s growing energy demands.

And if done right, the city’s transition could create nearly 10,000 new jobs and bring in $60 to $90 billion of new investment for the city.

This week, Brad talked with Jason about the policies and programs LADWP is using to clean up the city’s grid, and the ways that a public utility like theirs is uniquely suited to the challenge.

Listen Here or wherever you get your podcasts.