OPINION – This summer in California has been full of both impressive renewable energy milestones and concerning climate change impacts. These contradictions prove that we still have a long way to go on the road to 100% clean, renewable energy, and how important it is for California to drive quickly toward its goals.

On the one hand, we experienced an impressive stretch of 100 days from early March through the end of July, during which clean, renewable energy sources including solar, wind, hydro, batteries and geothermal power supplied 100% of the state’s electricity demand for at least a few minutes each day. What was once only an ambitious dream – powering California with 100% clean, renewable energy – has become a strikingly common occurrence this year.

But on the other hand, Californians throughout the state repeatedly have experienced increasingly severe and frequent impacts of climate change, from record-breaking heat waves scorching our communities for days on end to devastating wildfires that have displaced thousands and burned nearly a million acres of public and private lands.

Unfortunately, climate change is no longer just knocking at California’s door. Through the persistent burning of fossil fuels, we’ve welcomed climate change inside and it’s making itself at home, threatening to burn down our house room by room. Earth just passed another, much more distressing milestone — surpassing the internationally accepted threshold for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change (1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial temperatures) — for 12 consecutive months.

To reach our ultimate goal of powering our lives with 100% clean, renewable electricity, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, we must continue our steadfast progress in deploying technologies already at our disposal such as solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has the opportunity to show climate leadership this week by signing bills currently sitting on his desk. If signed into law, they would accelerate the growth of solar power, upgrade California’s electric grid and expedite our transition to clean energy.

First, Gov. Newsom must sign SB 1374, which will allow California schools and apartment buildings to fully utilize the solar energy they generate, without having to buy their own energy back from utilities. This will not only put dollars back into classrooms and the pockets of renters, but also will better utilize prime sites for solar infrastructure, such as the many rooftops and parking lots of school campuses and apartment buildings. Less than 10% of K-12 schools are currently reaping the environmental, financial, and community benefits of onsite solar energy.

Next, Gov. Newsom must sign SB 1006 and AB 2779, which would increase the capacity and efficiency of the state’s electric grid by implementing grid enhancing technologies (GETs). Too often, the power lines that make up our electric grid get blocked and congested, which means new renewable energy can’t get where it needs to go to power our communities. GETs are easily-installed hardware and software tools that can double the amount of renewable energy that can be integrated into the grid from existing power lines. These technologies can also help make the grid more reliable, reduce costs to ratepayers and help prevent wildfires.

We have to replace fossil fuels with clean, renewable power sources with more urgency than ever. Signing these bills into law would speed up California’s transition to clean energy by facilitating the deployment of technologies crucial to building a cleaner, healthier future for ourselves and our planet.

Steven King is a clean energy advocate at Environment California. He is based in Los Angeles.