Skip to main content
Donate

Confirmed: Solar Gigawatt Mark Passed in California

By Chris Clarke
August 21, 2012
Support Provided By
CaISO-graph-8-21-12-thumb-600x445-34531

Renewables' contributions to the grid on August 20 | Image courtesy California Independent System Operator

We reported yesterday that based on preliminary figures from the California Independent System Operator (CaISO), which operates the state's transmission grid, it looked as though California had more than 1,000 megawatts of solar power flowing into the state's grid mid-day Monday. Today, CaISO released data that confirmed that assessment. California's peak solar output reached 1,029 megawatts on Monday, August 20, a new record for the state -- and one sure to be broken as more solar capacity comes online.

As we mentioned yesterday, peak output is only one aspect of ranking solar's importance in the power portfolio. Solar's overall contribution to the grid yesterday amounted to 9,117 megawatt-hours, just 10% of the state's total renewable power output (which was 85,546 megawatt-hours) and just a hair above 1% of the state's total power demand for the day, 820,135 megawatt-hours.

Though solar came in second among renewables yesterday in terms of peak power -- wind turbines' contribution peaked at 2,617 megawatts -- solar remained in the #3 spot when ranked in total megawatt-hours of power generated. Geothermal energy, which peaked at 919 megawatts, nonetheless provided 20,893 megawatt-hours of power to the state, more than twice solar's contribution.

California's total renewable energy output, including small hydroelectric, biogas and biomass, peaked at 4,379 megawatts yesterday at around 10 p.m.

ReWire is dedicated to covering renewable energy in California. Keep in touch by liking us on Facebook, and help shape our editorial direction by taking this quick survey here.

Support Provided By
Read More
An oil pump painted white with red accents stands mid-pump on a dirt road under a blue, cloudy sky with a green, grassy slope in the background.

California’s First Carbon Capture Project: Vital Climate Tool or License to Pollute?

California’s first attempt to capture and sequester carbon involves California Resources Corp. collecting emissions at its Elk Hills Oil and Gas Field, and then inject the gases more than a mile deep into a depleted oil reservoir. The goal is to keep carbon underground and out of the atmosphere, where it traps heat and contributes to climate change. But some argue polluting industries need to cease altogether.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
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.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
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.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News