What Makes the LA100 Study So Complex? (Text Version)

This is a text version of the video “What Makes the LA100 Study So Complex?”

The video opens with a stylized animation of the Los Angeles power grid and the title LA100: The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study.

The video shows a sequence of aerial shots of LA neighborhoods, followed by utility workers and power lines.

Narrator: The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study, or LA100, envisions a dramatic change in how the nation’s largest municipal grid is planned and operated.

The video shows a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) renewable energy plant in the desert, followed by a series of images of solar panels.

Narrator: But getting to 100% renewables isn’t just about building lots of solar panels. 

The video shows an overhead shot of a wind turbine, followed by a utility-scale solar plant.

Narrator: A number of key considerations are associated with a 100% renewable power grid.

The video shows the LADWP John Ferraro building in LA, then cuts to a shot of transmission lines.

Narrator: First, LADWP will need to develop a large set of resources to provide all of the city’s energy.

The video shows a sequence of renewable energy plants, including wind turbines and solar panels.

Narrator: Many of the least-cost renewable resources, like large wind and solar sites, will be located outside the city.

The video shows a desert wind plant, followed by shots of transmission infrastructure and an LA neighborhood.

Narrator: That’s where there is more available land—but it will require building new transmission, which is especially difficult in and around the city—and can take a decade to complete.

The video shows a shot of downtown LA, then an LADWP-owned utility-scale solar plant. The video cuts to a sequence of shots of transmission lines and distribution lines.

Narrator: LADWP will also need to ensure that this mix of resources will balance the supply of renewables with the demand for electricity

The video shows distribution system infrastructure, followed by wind turbines and a hand flipping a light switch.

Narrator: And that the flow of energy to customers isn’t disrupted by natural disasters.

The video cuts to a shot of lightning over a city skyline, followed by a road that has been disrupted by an earthquake.

Narrator: Or during periods when wind and solar aren’t producing very much energy. Or none at all.

The video shows a still wind turbine, followed by a transmission line at sunset, and then an air-conditioning unit.

Narrator: Especially on a hot summer night, when demand for air conditioning is high…

The video shows a hydrogen tank with wind turbines in the background, followed by a series of shots of LADWP gas-fired power plants.

Narrator: This may require building new technologies in the city that are not weather dependent to replace existing natural-gas-fired power plants.

The video cuts to a shot of a family at the dinner table, followed by rooftop solar, electric vehicle charging stations, and cars on the highway.

Narrator: LA100 also envisions an increase in customer-owned rooftop solar, and new sources of demand like electric vehicles.

The video cuts to a shot of distribution lines and an animated visualization of a smart, connected energy system.

Narrator: This requires understanding how the local distribution network will need to be updated

The video cuts to a shot of a woman adjusting a smart thermostat, followed by a shot of an LADWP solar plant.

Narrator: And deploying smart technologies that allow customers to interact with the grid and help reduce the costs of getting to 100% renewables.

The video shows a bulletin board with question marks posted on it, followed by shots of someone charging an electric vehicle, wind turbines, the LA skyline at dusk, and a family spending time together in their backyard.

These are big questions—and LA100 is working on them today, so LA can meet its goals of clean energy, clean air, and affordable electricity for tomorrow.

The video cuts to an animated LA100 logo with the words The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study and the URL nrel.gov/analysis/los-angeles-100-percent-renewable-study.html.