California Renewable Energy Overview and Programs California,
with its abundant natural resources, has a long history of
support for renewable energy. In 2009, 11.6 percent of all
electricity came from renewable resources such as wind, solar,
geothermal, biomass and small hydroelectric facilities. Large
hydro plants generated another 9.2 percent of our electricity.
Around the turn of the 20th century, tens-of-thousands of homes
in Southern California took advantage of the "California
sunshine" to heat water for their homes. The oil crises of the
1970s gave rise to concerns over dependence on fossil fuels. At
that time, federal and state tax credits helped establish a new
solar and wind industry. Wind turbine farms cropped up on the
slopes of hills in three primary locations. Following
deregulation of the electric utilities in 1998, the California
Energy Commission was placed in charge of a new Renewable Energy
Program to help increase total renewable electricity production
statewide. This followed decades of