Renewables set new power supply records last month in California

On 11 March 2017 almost half of California’s electricity was generated from solar energy for consecutive three hours- according to new federal government estimates. 

The U.S. Department of Energy's statistics division used data from the California Independent System Operator, which manages the electricity grid across 80 per cent of California and part of Nevada – according to reports.

Between 11am and 2pm local time on 11 March, large-scale solar power plants contributed a record of around 40 per cent of the electricity flowing across the grid – according to the data.

The state has the capacity to generate as much as 9.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from large-scale solar projects, roughly the equivalent of ten nuclear reactors. 

In addition, smaller-scale rooftop solar panels on homes and businesses have a total capacity of up to 5.4 GW.

Together, solar energy met half of the overall electricity demand in the middle of the day – according to the estimates.

The milestone, albeit brief, marks a significant step towards the state’s goal to generate 50 per cent of its total electricity consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030.

Furthermore, all renewables – including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and small hydroelectric dams generated a record combined total of 56.7 per cent of all power on the grid on 23 March, said California Independent Systems Operator (ISO) spokesperson Steven Greenlee.

Going forward, many analysts advise that the state will need to develop affordable large-scale energy storage technologies to meet its 50 per cent renewable energy target and prevent wasted solar energy.

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