Cal-Adapt serves a critical need for California’s investor-owned electricity and gas utilities, regulators, and state agencies by providing a trustworthy, reliable, and open-access resource for climate data, tools, analytics, and supporting documentation. This project modernized Cal-Adapt’s climate data infrastructure to meet the growing need for high-quality climate information in energy system planning, evolving Cal-Adapt into a robust public data resource capable of handling the 250-fold increase in climate data volume leveraged in California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment. The larger and more detailed climate datasets now available through Cal‑Adapt support agencies and utilities in assessing how future climate conditions and evolving electricity‑system dynamics may affect infrastructure, operations, and resource planning, providing a stronger technical basis for long‑term decisions that substantially affect the reliability, affordability, and safety of California’s energy systems.
The team designed and implemented a high-performance Application Programming Interface and cloud-native architecture, scaling the platform from 10 to 2,500 terabytes, enabling fast, seamless access to high‑resolution climate projections for uses such as assessing infrastructure vulnerability, planning for future energy needs, and evaluating renewable energy resources under changing climate conditions. The project also developed interactive visualizations for wildfire risks and renewable energy conditions that translate complex information into comprehensible formats supporting insights and innovation.
Employing a co-production approach, the researchers worked directly with climate scientists and end users to ensure that the resources developed meet analytical standards as well as real-world regulatory and engineering needs. The project emphasized transparency and transferability, making all materials open source, and providing comprehensive documentation and training webinars. The overall result of the project is a foundation for future innovation and development to support California’s ongoing efforts to safely and affordably decarbonize the state’s energy system while adapting to climate impacts.
Research described by this agreement was administered by CEC with ratepayer funds from the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). This agreement’s Final Report describes original, energy-related research that contributes to California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment (Fifth Assessment). The Fifth Assessment comprises a broad portfolio of research and synthesis reports that address California-specific research needs and knowledge gaps related to climate change. To ensure scientific rigor, Fifth Assessment research was peer-reviewed. This research effort was peer reviewed through external (journal) publications.
Report Information
CCCA5-CEC-Energy-EPC-21-038
Lead Authors: Owen M Doherty, Ph.D. Mark D. Koenig, and the Cal-Adapt: Analytic Engine Team
Coordinating Commission Agreement Manager: Mithra Moezzi, Ph.D.