California is proving that scaling solar and battery storage can fundamentally change how a power system operates. With natural gas generation down, solar output nearly doubled since 2020, and batteries now covering the evening peak, the state is showing what happens when clean energy is built fast enough to meet real demand.
Good news, Thursday!
California is showing what happens when solar and batteries scale fast enough to reshape an entire power system.
Over the last five years, California’s electricity mix has shifted in a way that most states are still trying to figure out.
- ●California is using less natural gas for electricity than it used to. From January to August 2025, gas generation fell to 45.5 billion kWh, from ~55.5 billion kWh in 2020 - an 18% drop.
- ●Utility-scale solar reached 40.3 billion kWh over the same period. This is almost double the 22 billion kWh produced in 2020.
- ●Total electricity generation in California reached 140.9 billion kWh from January to August 2025, an 8 percent increase from 2020 - most of that growth came from solar.
The daily data shows the story even more clearly.
Midday solar output rose from about 10 gigawatts in 2020 to nearly 19 gigawatts in 2025. Gas plants now run much less between noon and 5 p.m. because solar power covers those hours.
The evening demand spike is changing as well. Battery output between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. increased from less than one gigawatt in 2022 to almost five gigawatts in 2025. These batteries store excess solar power during the day and release it when electricity use is highest.
This shift is happening because California built more solar, added large amounts of battery storage, and improved its ability to move clean power into the hours when it is needed most.
The results are visible in both daily operations and year-over-year numbers. Gas still supports the grid, but it covers fewer hours as solar and storage take on more of the work.
California still faces challenges that include long-duration storage, more transmission, and faster permitting.
Even with those hurdles, the direction is clear. Solar and batteries are now reshaping the grid at scale and making the system cleaner and more reliable every year.
If other states want lower costs during peak hours, fewer outages, and more stability during extreme heat, this is the model to follow.
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