Skip to main content

California Breaks 3 New Renewable Energy Records

Support Provided By
Screen shot 2013-05-28 at 5.13.44 PM-thumb-600x403-51895
Red-tagged Joshua trees with wind turbines in the background | Photo: Don Barrett/Flickr/Creative Commons License

We told ourselves we wouldn't do this: ReWire has documented so many "solar records" for California it was starting to get a little repetitive. The state is building more renewable energy generating capacity than it's ever had, so records will be dropping pretty routinely.

But we just couldn't resist this one: between May 23 and 26, California broke three records for renewable energy feeding into the grid: two for solar, and one for wind.

On May 23, the California Independent System Operator (CaISO) -- the agency that runs the power grid for most of the state -- announced that a new record amount of solar power was feeding into its power grid, and that the state was edging toward 1,900 megawatts of solar energy on the grid:

If you're looking for a way to grasp the figure, 1,872 megawatts is just about enough to run an efficient mid-sized window air conditioning unit for every resident of Los Angeles. It's a lot of power, though of course it pales by comparison to solar output in places like Germany, and to overall peak demand statewide.

That record didn't stand very long, as it happens: it was beaten precisely 23 and one half hours later.

Two days later, on a somewhat windy Sunday, the state posted a record from another non-carbon power source:

As of Tuesday both sources have dropped back down to levels we've seen before, in the 1,600s for solar and 3,100s for wind: a reminder that both sources of energy are somewhat unpredictable -- wind especially so.

It's also worth remembering that these totals count only that energy that flows into CaISO's power grid. Renewable generation that's on the consumer side of the electric meter, mainly rooftop solar but also including a few microwind turbines here and there, don't get noticed by the grid except as reduced demand.

Still, on Sunday May 26, wind turbines provided about 16 percent of CaISO's power delivery. Love wind turbines or hate them, that's a milestone worth noting.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.