> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What I’m reading: Californians believe renewables will lower energy costs, balcony solar advances in California and the UK, the California solar 'power hour,' global energy transition tracker, and more - URL: https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/what-im-reading-californians-see-clean-energy-will-lower-energy-costs-balcony-solar-advances-in-california-and-the-uk-the-california-solar-power-hour-global-energy-transition-tracker-an/ - Published: 2026-08-28T18:30:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-28T18:30:55.000Z - Description: Quitting Carbon's biweekly roundup of energy transition developments you might have missed. - Author: Justin Gerdes - Tags: What I'm reading **Quitting Carbon* is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider* [*becoming a paid subscriber*](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/#/portal/signup)*,* [*gifting a paid subscription*](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/#/portal/gift)*, or* [*leaving a tip*](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/#/portal/support)*.* Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. Have a great weekend and thanks, as always, for reading. **Californians want relief from high energy bills, see clean energy as the solution – survey** Californians are concerned about the state’s energy future, and they are worried about rising utility bills, but they also overwhelmingly see clean energy as the solution to both challenges. Those are the key takeaways from a [survey](https://advancedenergyunited.org/reports/california-statewide-voter-survey-report/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) of more than 1,200 California November 2026 general election likely voters [released earlier this month](https://advancedenergyunited.org/press-releases/new-poll-finds-california-voters-want-action-to-lower-energy-costs-see-clean-energy-as-affordable-solution/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) by Advanced Energy United (AEU), a national industry association, at a [policy summit in Sacramento](https://reg.eventmobi.com/california-powers-up/pages/agenda?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). The survey, which was conducted by the public opinion research firm Bold Decision for AEU, finds a plurality (34%) agreeing the “economy, inflation, cost of living, affordability” is “the single most important issue or challenge facing the state of California today.” Eighty percent agree that “challenges regarding energy and electricity in California” are “a new long-term reality.” Just 36% believe “California has sufficient electricity infrastructure to meet current demand” and even less (30%) believe “California has sufficient electricity infrastructure to meet future needs.” But most Californians prefer renewable and clean energy over fossil fuels to address these challenges, and they believe renewables will lower their costs. Seventy percent say wind or solar are “a more affordable approach for addressing California’s energy needs,” while just 23% say “conventional energy sources such as oil, gas, or coal” would be cheaper. And by a 2-1 margin, more Californians think “encouraging more renewable/clean energy” will “make electricity costs lower” (50%) than “make electricity costs higher” (25%). **Balcony solar advances in California and the UK** Balcony solar systems could soon be available in two huge new markets. In California, state lawmakers just sent legislation ([SB 868](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill%5Fid=202520260SB868&ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) legalizing plug-in solar systems (aka balcony solar) to Governor Gavin Newsom (D). Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the bill. “Plug-in solar allows renters (who usually don’t benefit from rooftop solar) and homeowners (who may not be able to afford rooftop solar up-front costs) to plug in a low cost solar panel and quickly lower their electric bills. SB 868 is a big win for affordability,” the bill's author, state Senator Scott Wiener (D), [wrote on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/scottwiener.bsky.social/post/3mtzsdzrwr225?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). In the UK, plug-in solar systems are now legal to buy and use across the country. “Major retailers – such as Wickes, Currys, B&Q, Screwfix, Asda and Amazon, which have all worked with the government on the rollout – are set to now offer plug-in solar products in stores and online,” [reports BusinessGreen's Stuart Stone](https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4534869/simple-affordable-plug-solar-panels-approved-sale-uk?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). 📖 ****Read more:** [****Bringing small modular solar to the masses**](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/bringing-small-modular-solar-to-the-masses/) **Fleet owners bet big on electric trucks** Truck fleet owners are notorious for obsessively tracking the cost per mile for service, so it is noteworthy that some very large retailers and logistics providers are making the shift to electric trucks. In Australia, the supermarket giant Woolworths recently signed a deal to lease 148 electric delivery trucks from the fleet electrification specialist Zenobē. The companies say the deal comprises “Australia’s largest electric truck rollout to date,” [reports The Driven’s Sam Parkinson](https://thedriven.io/2026/07/02/australian-retail-giant-signs-148-truck-ev-deal-as-electric-freight-moves-beyond-pilot-stage/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). The deal, which is being supported by Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, “will see the new electric trucks added to Woolworths’ expanding last-mile delivery fleet across Australia. The first trucks were delivered in May, with the full rollout expected to be completed progressively through 2026,” he writes. [Support independent energy journalism](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/#/portal/signup) Just this week, Tesla confirmed the largest order to date for its Semi electric truck. Supply chain company Einride placed an order for 500 Tesla Semis, worth just under $A175 million ($125 million), [reported Parkinson’s colleague Riz Akhtar](https://thedriven.io/2026/08/22/tesla-announces-biggest-order-to-date-for-semi-electric-truck-from-supply-chain-company/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). “EV heavy trucks provide lower costs per mile from fuel savings, reduced maintenance, and better uptime over diesel trucks. These savings increase further through operational efficiency when deploying EV trucks at scale, and we are excited that Einride recognizes this and look forward to supporting their deployments,” said Dan Priestley, director of Tesla’s Semi program, in a statement. Indeed, as Canary Media’s Jeff St. John [reports](https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/electric-vehicles/electric-trucks-look-a-lot-more-appealing-when-gas-prices-are-sky-high?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com), “the fuel price spike triggered by the Iran war has made it clear just how much cheaper it can be to move freight with trucks that run on electricity instead of gasoline or diesel.” Consider the example of a step van from electric vehicle manufacturer [Workhorse](https://workhorse.com/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). “The electric trucks Workhorse builds and runs in its Stables fleet, a type known as step vans, were already cheaper to operate last year than their gasoline-fueled counterparts – saving about 42.5 cents per mile, based on electricity at 11 cents per kilowatt-hour and gasoline at $2.98 per gallon,” writes St. John. “But by May 1, gasoline had spiked to an average of $4.83 per gallon in Ohio, pushing the savings advantage for electric trucks up to 73.6 cents per mile. With gas prices so high, a Workhorse step van driving about 50 miles per day can expect to save about $11,000 per year on fuel costs.” ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **California’s “free” solar “power hour” – and a cautionary tale from Australia** Xavier Becerra’s otherwise somnolent campaign to be the next governor of California generated headlines earlier this month when at a Politico event in Sacramento the candidate [announced his support for a “power hour” initiative](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/11/xavier-becerra-wants-to-give-californians-a-free-electricity-power-hour-01034803?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) that would give low-income households two hours of free electricity each day. Becerra said he would work with the California Public Utilities Commission to launch the program within his first year in office. On its face, it’s a tantalizing idea. In California, solar power surges onto the grid at midday – so much so that the output from large solar power plants that is not soaked up by [the state’s growing battery fleet](https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2026-08/california-surpasses-21000-megawatts-battery-resources-supporting-states?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) can go unused (i.e. curtailed by the state’s grid operator). So, why not incentivize households to take advantage of that cheap, plentiful midday solar power that otherwise might be wasted? But as a new program in another similarly sun-blessed locale demonstrates, the devil is very much in the details. Becerra’s “power hour” initiative is very likely inspired by a similar “[Solar Sharer](https://www.energy.gov.au/rebates/solar-sharer-offer?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)” offer that went live in three Australian states on July 1\. But it turns out that Australia’s example might be more cautionary tale than policy win to emulate. [Subscribe to Quitting Carbon](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/#/portal/signup) Writing at Renew Economy, Gavin Gilchrist, program manager with Inner West Community Energy Inc. in Sydney, [argues](https://reneweconomy.com.au/solar-sharer-has-become-the-solar-shocker-with-the-costliest-of-retail-offers/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) that the Solar Sharer program has *increased* costs for participating households. “It could have been a very smart, exciting and world-first energy policy initiative. But now we can see the results, it’s clear that Solar Sharer has gone terribly, terribly wrong,” he writes. “As is too often the case in energy policy, the customer ends up the loser.” This despite the offer launching with the approval of the Australian Energy Regulator, the federal government’s market regulator. Gilchrist writes that he reviewed pricing schedules on the federal government’s [Energy Made Easy](https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) website to compare Solar Sharer offers to the other pricing plans available from Australia’s three dominant electricity retailers: AGL, Energy Australia, and Origin. “It’s now clear that Solar Sharer pricing has the highest cost for a household of all pricing schedules on offer. The electricity retailers have increased the price of electricity outside the free three hours of Solar Sharer, plus they’ve increased the daily supply charge above the supply charge in their other pricing offers,” he writes. “Unfortunately, when left to the greedy, price-gouging gentailers and retailers to implement, it has now become a more expensive option for consumers – it’s not a bill saver – and all overseen by the Australian Energy Regulator who are doing nothing to protect consumers,” [Ty Christopher](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ty-christopher-30989417/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com), director of the Energy Futures Network at the University of Wollongong, told Gilchrist. “If you have a large battery and can fill it in three hours, you *might* be better off with Solar Sharer,” Gilchrist writes, “even though your daily supply charge will be almost twice what it would be on a standard tariff. But tenants and apartment dwellers, the very people Solar Sharer most intended to support, will not be able to install a home battery.” (emphasis in original) “Solar Sharer, a great idea in principle, has become the Solar Shocker,” he concludes. Governor Becerra: You’ve been warned! **“Uniquely valuable” ARPA-E should be “reliably funded” – National Academies report** Established in 2009, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (APPA-E) has [over the past 15 years](https://arpa-e.energy.gov/about/arpa-e-at-a-glance/history?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) garnered bipartisan backing in the U.S. Congress as an incubator of high-risk, high-reward energy technologies. The agency is one of the most important actors in the U.S.’ energy innovation ecosystem. A new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [report](https://www.nationalacademies.org/publications/29399?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) affirms this view, finding that “Congress should continue to provide reliable funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, as it plays a unique and valuable role in the nation’s energy innovation ecosystem.” “In our analysis of ARPA-E, we found the agency’s unique organization and operations are central to its success and make this agency indispensable to U.S. energy innovation,” said [Gary Marchant](https://search.asu.edu/profile/228973?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com), professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and chair of the committee that wrote the report, in a [press release](https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/arpa-e-plays-unique-and-valuable-role-in-energy-innovation-and-should-be-reliably-funded-says-new-report?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). The agency has been so successful in carrying out its mission that the report recommends that Congress boost its funding. The report calls for an “increase annual funding specifically for ARPA-E’s [SCALEUP program](https://arpa-e.energy.gov/programs-and-initiatives/SCALEUP-program?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) from roughly $40 million to $120 million, which should be added on top of the agency’s overall budget.” 📖 ****Read more:** [****Could "sophisticated miniature modular plants" slash the energy consumption and emissions resulting from processing raw materials?**](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/could-sophisticated-miniature-modular-plants-slash-the-energy-consumption-and-emissions-resulting-from-processing-raw-materials/) **and** [****Why does Chris Wright insist on being so wrong on the energy transition?**](https://www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/what-im-reading-federal-courts-chip-away-at-trumps-wind-and-solar-blockade-trump-wants-to-kill-public-transit-europes-electrification-action-plan-global-energy-transition-tracker-and-mo/) 🌍 ****Global energy transition tracker** Let’s take another quick tour of the globe to note recent clean energy milestones: - Australia's first offshore wind auction went live after Victoria opened the Request for Proposal process for the state's first two gigawatts of projects. (Sophie Vorrath, [Renew Economy](https://reneweconomy.com.au/giant-leap-australias-first-ever-offshore-wind-auction-goes-live-as-state-seeks-first-2-gw-of-projects/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - Pacifico Energy Korea was selected as the sole developer for the 2.13 GW Jindo Integrated Cluster Phase 2 offshore wind project in South Korea. (Lily Bowers, [TGS](https://www.tgs4c.com/news/pacifico-energy-korea-secures-key-role-in-2.13gw-offshore-wind-cluster-nid33192.html?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - 500,000 residential batteries have been installed in Australia under the federal Labor government's [Cheaper Home Batteries Program](https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/programs/cheaper-home-batteries?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com). (Sophie Vorrath, [Renew Economy](https://reneweconomy.com.au/from-niche-technology-to-500000-households-taking-control-cheaper-home-batteries-hits-half-million-milestone/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) Four percent of Australian homes have installed batteries – “that totals 14 GWh, comparing to the US' 9 GWh, where the population is 12x larger, according to Energy Minister Chris Bowen.” (Keira Wright, [Bloomberg](https://bsky.app/profile/bykeirawright.bsky.social/post/3mtaqdg37yk2n?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - U.S. utility-scale battery storage capacity averaged 70% growth over the last three years. ([U.S. EIA](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67925&ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) In California, the battery energy storage fleet now surpasses 21,000 megawatts of capacity. ([California Energy Commission](https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2026-08/california-surpasses-21000-megawatts-battery-resources-supporting-states?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - “Electric car sales are on track to hit record highs this year, with 29 percent of all new cars purchased around the world expected to be either purely battery-powered models or plug-in hybrids, according to [a recent report](https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2026?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com) from the International Energy Agency.” (Mira Rojanasakul and Brad Plumer, [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/18/climate/ev-car-sales-oil-prices.html?unlocked%5Farticle%5Fcode=1.61A.05oA.qCa%5Fe3Sjvh4n&smid=url-share&ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - Used EV sales in the UK increased by 67% in Q2 2026 to account for 5.5% of total used car market, a new record. (Stuart Stone, [Business Green](https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4534161/electric-vehicle-sales-surge-record-uk-market-share?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - 97% of vehicles bought by private buyers in Denmark in July were fully battery electric. (Joshua S. Hill, [The Driven](https://thedriven.io/2026/08/11/denmark-joins-norway-at-ev-pinnacle-as-97-per-cent-of-private-buyers-opt-for-electric-cars-in-latest-month/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - “Under a revamped energy policy framework set in motion by President Claudia Sheinbaum ... 7,410 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar and wind projects were selected in June out of nearly 38,000 MW that had been proposed, highlighting strong investor interest to develop renewable projects in \[Mexico\].” (Seth Feaster, [IEEFA](https://ieefa.org/resources/policy-reset-could-significantly-expand-wind-and-solar-generation-mexico?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) - Africa’s first 24/7 “solar baseload” power plant – comprising 233 MW of solar PV and a 526 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system – has come online at a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Andy Colthorpe, [Energy Storage News](https://www.energy-storage.news/africas-first-24-7-solar-baseload-power-plant-enabled-by-batteries-goes-online-at-drc-copper-mine/?ref=quittingcarbonmedia.com)) **One more thing: More scenes from Sacramento** I was in downtown Sacramento, California, earlier this month to attend the Advanced Energy United California energy policy summit I mentioned at the top of this newsletter. Here are a few scenes from the walk to and from my hotel. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/a2/97a2d4c5-8e93-4ddc-b34c-aaaff1b1b93a/content/images/2026/08/California-State-Capitol_Justin-Gerdes_August-11_2026.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/a2/97a2d4c5-8e93-4ddc-b34c-aaaff1b1b93a/content/images/2026/08/IMG_20260811_173922371_HDR.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/a2/97a2d4c5-8e93-4ddc-b34c-aaaff1b1b93a/content/images/2026/08/IMG_20260811_173940877_HDR.jpg) From left/top: Morning view of the California State Capitol; the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament; and the Elks Tower. Credit: Justin Gerdes.