# Wind Microgeneration Strategy for Meeting California's Carbon Neutral Grid Goal
###### Abstract  
As California's Renewables Portfolio Standard continues to phase power production from fossil fuels, carbon neutral sources will need to be implemented. This sets small-scale wind production and battery storage in a position to integrate into current grid infrastructure as means of production. This would be an \"E Pluribus Unum\" approach where many decentralized small production and storage units would act in combination to provide a stable grid. This is often referred to as distributed generation (DG). By distributing the grid's production in this manner and designating predetermined regional hubs for control (in the event of a fractured grid due to natural disaster), the state and its residents will be able to maintain power for critical infrastructure and basic utilities. This work presents, in detail, a sustainable plan for achieving carbon neutral Californian grid by 2045.  
microgeneration; Renewables Portfolio Standard; carbon neutral +
Footnote †: journal: _Sciences_  
In 2002, California adopted a Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), which phases in an increasing portion of energy generation that comes from carbon-free sources. The current goals are to achieve a 60% carbon-free grid by 2030 and a completely carbon-free grid by 2045 [6]. As the grid shifts to a Carbon neutral grid and as the state will presumably experience intense wildfire seasons, the need to minimize stress on an already aged grid may be necessary to limit the extent of wildfire devastation while maintaining a stable power supply for the state's residents. Since 2018, it has been agreed that the state's grid should be upgraded and modernized due to the fact that, by law, the state must achieve all of its power by 2045 from renewable energy sources. The plan leading the California grid to become carbon neutral in the long term, includes operating an energy imbalance market and checking systems' reliability, thus securing high renewable energy penetration. The transmission system operator (TSO) is usually based on historical prices to reach relatively accurate forecasting. The Californian grid often suffers from rather extensive wildfires and other extreme events (natural disasters or other). It seems that due to climate change, historical prices are no longer a good determinant of the future. Three main causes are responsible for this:  
- unprecedented heat waves;  
- unplanned available storage capacity; and  
- unclear overview of actual supply and demand (especially in the evening hours). Since California has set the 2045 carbon neutral grid, the demand, production, and operation patterns will not be the same. With spanning to multiple states and having efficient communication with the other TSOs, California will be taking advantage of the diversity of the resources on the western side of the country, hopefully avoiding pitfalls. The plan is to follow a similar plan to the target model that prevails in Europe. Serious (and emergency) demand response, such as the Flex Alert or other similar programs, are going to serve and engage end-users more and more in the future. Furthermore, new storage options, new fuels, and investments are going to be the compass for this change. This could, in part, be accomplished with small-scale wind and grid-tied battery storage [7], but can it be done without storage [8]? In 2018, the California Energy Commission stated that wind production capacity was about 6 GW and accounted for only 7.3% of the state's total power generation for that year, combined with very limited distributed storage facilities [9]. On top of that, California's housing values are notably higher than that of the other 49 states (housing bubble). As of the end of April 2020, the median home price in the state was $578,267, while the nationwide median home price was $248,857 (the question that immediately comes to mind is \"should overpriced homes crash\"?). This creates an elevated and possibly insurmountable capital cost for any projects that require large swathes of terrestrial land [10; 11].