As solar floods California grid, challenges loom
California’s solar plants produced a record 8,030 megawatts of electricity just after 1 p.m. Tuesday — enough power for more than 6 million homes, and almost twice as much solar power as California could generate two years ago.
The state has a law requiring utilities to acquire 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. When demand on Tuesday peaked at 5:54 p.m., nearly 29 percent of electricity in the grid was renewably sourced.
On May 16, for a brief moment, renewable sources powered 56 percent of electricity in the grid.
“California continues to lead the nation in adding clean resources to the system and writing a playbook for operating a low-carbon grid,” said California Independent System Operator CEO Steve Berberich.