California breaks energy record with 80% of state's power generated using renewable methods

The Golden State has soaked up enough rays to generate 67.2 per cent of its energy from renewable sources last month, smashing previous records.

When combining California’s largest grid with hydropower facilities, renewable energy rose even further to 80.7 per cent of total energy generation on 13 May.

Thanks to ample sunshine, full water reservoirs and more solar facilities, the California Independent System Operator, the largest grid in the state, beat previous records.

California also set a new record on 16 May for wind power, producing 4,985 megawatts on one day.

"It's going to be a dynamic year for records," CISO spokesperson Steven Greenlee told SF Gate. "The solar records in particular are falling like dominoes."

Within the liberal west coast state, San Francisco is on track for its public transit system to run on clean energy by 2054.

While it leads the way in terms of renewable energy, it is also one of the hardest hit states in terms of natural disasters and climate change, including devastating droughts and forest fires.

Other states and cities are following the renewable energy trend.

Government buildings in Las Vegas are completely powered by renewable energy.

Chicago will power all buildings in the city with renewable energy by 2025.

Atlanta has pledged to be 100 per cent renewable energy by 2035, while the whole state of Massachusetts and Hawaii will follow by 2035 and 2045 respectively.

Progress is coming despite sweeping changes to climate change under the Donald Trump administration.

Mr Trump appointed former Oklahoma state attorney and climate change sceptic Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, the same agency he sued on behalf of energy industry clients.

The National Park Service no longer tweets about climate change.

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump spoke against wind power, claiming that the wind turbines are "killing all the Golden Eagles in California".