Solar power sets a record in California

This factoid came across my desk a few weeks ago:



On June 1, California recorded a record hourly peak of 4,767 megawatts of solar electricity to the grid, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.



In short, the folks who supply electrical power, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), are using record amounts of utility-generated solar, even if it is only about 5,000 MW out of a summer demand of 35,000 MW.



The U.S. EIA is reporting solar energy is being used by CAISO to keep the lights on and the air conditioners humming in late spring and early summer.



In May, during the peak time for energy between 11 a.m. and noon, solar supplied 14 percent of the state’s total power, as compared to 6 percent in May 2013, the U.S. EIA reported. When taking an average of the peak hourly generation for each month, solar energy sent to the grid jumped 150 percent in the same period.



I found this impressive for two reasons. One, this is not some California pro-solar agency reporting. This is a national agency that looks at electrical power sources in all 50 states. Second, the EIA is only talking about utility-generated solar power. California also has what it calls “behind-the-meter” solar like those installed in people’s homes or on building rooftops. Though small solar was not counted in its report, the EIA noted California installed 750 megawatts of residential and commercial solar photovoltaics in 2013 “further reducing midday baseload power demand.”



I spoke to an expert and an advocate of alternative energy, Evan Gillespie, western regional deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign who provided perspective.



California is a leader in solar, which makes sense. We get a lot of sunshine. The Golden State may reach the legislative goal of 33 percent alternative energy by 2020 early, he said, mostly because solar and wind power are growing.



But the United States is not at that percentage, unlike Germany which is approaching 50 percent of its electrical power from alternative-energy sources.



But for California, solar projects like those you see in the Mojave Desert are making a difference in the daily supply of electricity to homes. “On the hottest days, when everyone has the AC cranking, solar is literally keeping the lights on,” Gillespie said.



Those who don’t believe it are using old energy statistics, he said. That’s because American energy production has soared in the last decade, including more use of natural gas to make electricity as well as wind, solar and geothermal power.



And it is not just a California thing.



Gillespie said the state using the most wind power is Texas. And the next solar market to explode is in Georgia, he said. “One of the big reasons is energy independence,” he said.



So it’s not just about green energy or the California mandate to get off coal and fossil fuels because it is causing the globe to warm up. “Clean energy is a non-partisan issue,” he said.



The biggest problem with the ramp-up of solar energy (the EIA says California accounted for 75 percent of the new utility-scale solar capacity last year) is an inevitable slow-down after the state meets its greenhouse gas reduction goals in 2020.



Gillespie and others are concerned that jobs could be lost if solar slows down.



In California, the 47,000 solar jobs are more than employed by the big three utility companies combined: Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric, according to Gillespie’s own research.



In the U.S., the coal industry employs 87,000 people while clean energy industries employ 360,000, according to the EIA. Half of those in coal worked in two states: Kentucky and West Virginia, according to the EIA. As of November 2013, 143,000 people worked in the solar industry in the United States, according to a very recent census study from the Solar Foundation.



Whether solar becomes the dominant energy choice remains to be seen. But its impact on the grid, the economy and in particular, the job market, is already being felt.



Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/environment-and-nature/20140712/solar-power-sets-a-record-in-california



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