How EVs can fix the grid and lower your electric bill

Solar power is an important renewable energy in Germany, but when the sun is out, it can overpower the grid. Likewise, when the sun is not out, the reception of solar power decreases. Germany has piloted battery installations that store solar energy for use when the sunlight is not plentiful and has successfully incentivized citizens to use them to lower costs.

The SunZia project (a 916-turbine, 550-mile transmission wind energy system in New Mexico) now delivers up to 3.65 gigawatts of clean electricity to Arizona and California. Since testing began in April 2026, it's already driven record-breaking wind power generation five times on California's grid.

Madison's electric bus fleet, equipped with overhead quick-charging stations at route endpoints, has successfully operated through brutal Wisconsin winters (including -4°F temperatures) with minimal range loss.

Sage Geosystems has developed a geopressured geothermal battery system in Texas that uses oil-drilling techniques to store energy underground for 4-6 hours—longer than lithium-ion batteries. This is one stage in a plan to replace an aging coal plant with renewable energy, though the system is not yet operational or connected to the grid.

Gravity batteries can store excess renewable energy in abandoned mine shafts, offering coal-dependent communities economic and environmental benefits. This energy storage tactic is being used in various iterations around the globe.

Microgrids, small-scale energy systems that can operate either independently or as part of the larger electric grid, are growing in popularity and effectiveness. In one example on tribal land in California, a microgrid saves 25 percent of electricity costs and reduces Blue Lake Rancheria's carbon footprint by hundreds of tons of carbon annually.

Localized, distributed energy systems are popping up around California. As the larger electricity system becomes less reliable in the face of wildfires, more individuals are turning to microgrids and solar energy with help from organizations like Clean Coalition and Stone Edge Farm Microgrid. While still happening on a small scale, such energy systems may become more popular as its sustainability in a changing climate shows to be more resilient.

San Francisco is using technology to calculate the cost of parking throughout the city, depending on the demand in specific neighborhoods at any given time. While critics were wary of the effect flexible pricing would have on lower-income residents, the pilot program resulted in lower parking costs on average and demonstrated that flexible pricing could promote equity. In other cities around the world, flexible pricing systems implemented through the use of technology have been effective in raising revenue from higher-income people and neighborhoods to reduce prices and reinvest in equitable solutions.

Coastal cities across South and North Carolina are considering the benefits of underground power lines. With hurricane winds doing major damage to above-ground lines, buried lines often go unharmed, leaving residents with power during such storms. Those in the field note that the cost of rerouting power underground is substantial, and something that residents must cover themselves.

Years after the California Energy Commission funded and launched demonstration microgrids, they’re seeing results. These microgrids, which are localized energy sources that can work independently from large electric grids, were fairly costly, but have shown demonstrable success in lowering utility bills and delivering low-carbon power. As the Commission moves forward with this effort, they hope to continue to learn by doing and improving their processes.