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OPINION – California has long been a national leader in clean energy, setting the most ambitious climate goals in the country—proposing 100% clean energy by 2045 and 100% new zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Yet, despite its leadership, the state faces numerous challenges: an aging grid, bureaucratic roadblocks, and policies that have stalled the progress to meet these targets. Heatwaves, wildfires, grid instability, and rising energy costs serve as urgent reminders that the current course of action will not be enough to reach our goals.

Our challenge as a state is to create a new energy marketplace that maximizes every electron, utilizes dynamic systems to create supply and addresses the increasing load demands of an energy hungry economy.

To realize this bold clean energy vision and the state’s clean energy goals—like achieving carbon neutrality by 2045—we must challenge the status quo. As more renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and others are integrated into the grid, managing their intermittency becomes a critical factor. This calls for innovative solutions like decentralized energy production, demand-response systems, and enhanced grid flexibility to balance supply and demand. By embracing these creative approaches, California can create a more resilient electric grid that is better equipped to handle future growth and climate-related challenges, while also advancing its environmental goals.

The need for new strategies in grid technology and energy management has never been more urgent to secure a sustainable and reliable energy future. It is this challenge that Deploy Action has taken on. The new non-profit is bringing a creative and unique perspective to the debate on energy production by working to eliminate hurdles to clean energy deployment in California and across the United States.

Deploy Action will move California beyond the traditional battle lines of clean vs. affordable, solar vs. utilities, and development vs. environmental protection, and provide an overarching vision for what a 21st century grid should look like. This includes an energy system based on clean consumer choice which will drive down prices, coupled with a flexible, efficient utility system that maximizes its assets and infrastructure to provide best in class energy services to the people of California.

The state’s skyrocketing demand for energy and the devastating impacts of climate change–most recently demonstrated by the Southern California fires–tells us that we can’t turn to old ways. It is imperative that we scale up clean energy infrastructure to meet these demands and protect the planet from more avoidable climate disasters.

Despite its ambitious climate policy agenda, California has passed numerous policies and regulations which have curtailed clean energy in the last few years. Some government decisions have made it harder to install solar energy and batteries, both of which are critical for reliability, cost effectiveness and emissions reductions.

As the legislature, regulators and the Governor look at the future of the state’s power infrastructure, there needs to be a focus on interregional market cooperation and transmission expansion to improve regional energy market coordination and transmission capacity. We need to invest in load flexibility to replace costly infrastructure upgrades and reduce grid constraints and support data access reform to enable efficient energy management and consumer savings.

In order to reimagine our energy system, there must be a strong and unified voice for change. California needs to facilitate progress on grid resilience and transmission, new clean energy technology deployment, building decarbonization, air pollution reduction and energy affordability for all.

Phil Ting is a Co-Founder of Deploy Action and the founder of Illum Advisors. He served 12 years in the state legislature and was the longest serving Assembly Budget Chair in state history.

Arnab Pal is a Co-Founder of Deploy Action and the President of Clean Infrastructure Advisors, where he consults for developers, trade associations, and advocacy groups in the clean energy sector both in California and nationally.