It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good as they say – drought-stricken California has set a new record for solar electricity generation in the area covered by the California Independent System Operator (ISO).
California is in the grips of one of the most severe droughts on record and the state was recently informed by forecasters it cannot count on potential El Niño conditions to halt or reverse drought conditions during the coming winter.
However, more sunshine means the state’s rapidly growing solar capacity has been generating huge amounts of electricity – and earlier today (Australian time) a new record was set.
“New #ISO #solar generation all-time peak of 6341MW reached today at 1:52. Previous all-time peak was 6330MW on 8/12.”
The ISO manages the flow of electricity across the transmission network that makes up 80 percent of California’s and a small part of Nevada’s power grid; covering around 30 million customers.
According to Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), California installed 718 MW of solar energy capacity in the first quarter of this year, bringing the state’s total capacity to 10,649 MW – which is enough to power nearly 2.6 million homes.
” If California was a nation, it would rank 6th in the world in installed solar capacity,” said SEIA in June. “Today, California has more solar assets than nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Australia and Belgium, becoming the first state in the U.S. to top 10,000 megawatts (MW) of installed solar capacity.”
Last year, the state was the first in the USA to produce more than five per cent of its annual electricity from utility-scale solar power systems.
Like Australia, California’s solar potential is huge – even within the built environment. A study published early this year stated a mix of rooftop and concentrated solar power installed within California’s towns and cities could meet the state’s energy demands five times over.
California is on track to meet an original goal of 33 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2020. A new target has set a goal of 50 percent renewables by 2030.
