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The annual snapshot of California’s electricity generation shows how much drought conditions can affect the state’s power mix.
In-state hydroelectricity generation in 2020 dropped 44.3 percent from the year before, according to numbers recently released by the California Energy Commission. All told, 21,414 gigawatt-hours came from a combination of the state’s large and small hydro power plants — significantly lower than the 38.494 gigawatt-hours hydro delivered in 2019.
The state’s electricity from sources that do not emit carbon — renewables, nuclear power and large hydro projects of at 30 megawatts or more — accounted for 51 percent of generation within California last year, down 6 percent from 2019.