Enough energy was generated to power more than 6 million households!
The state of California in the United States is often
referred to as the ‘golden state’ as it is believed to be the richest
of all the states due to the economic viability of
the area. For the past few years, renewable energy has been produced to
supply clean and affordable energy there. Now, California has broken
all the solar generation records because of it.
According to California’s Independent Solar Operators
Corporation (ISO), 8,030 megawatts of large-scale solar power was
generated at 1:06 p.m. on July 12, nearly doubling the amount of solar
energy produced in mid-2014, and nearly 2,000 megawatts higher than in
May 2015.
This new record was set solely by large solar plants.
It does not take into consideration 537,637 smaller solar panel arrays
installed on private homes and business’ rooftops. According to San Francisco Gate, that’s enough energy to power more than 6 million households.
“This solar production record demonstrates that California is making significant strides forward in connecting low carbon resources to the grid in meeting the state’s goal of reaching 33 percent renewables by 2020,” ISO President and CEO Steve Berberich said.
The ISO noted that at peak electricity demand on
Tuesday at 5:54 p.m., almost 29 percent of electricity needs were met by
the state’s vast renewable energy portfolio that includes solar, wind,
geothermal, biofuels, small hydroelectricity and energy storage.
The Solar Energy Industries
Association (SEIA) has consistently ranked California as the nation’s
top solar state. In April, SEIA reported that
California has more solar jobs and installed more megawatts of solar
capacity last year than any other U.S. state. Its 13,241 megawatts of
cumulatively-installed solar capacity is capable of powering an
estimated 3.32 million homes.
According to the U.S. Department,
“for both utility-scale solar PV and solar thermal, California has more capacity than [the]rest of the country combined, with 52 percent and 73 percent of the nation’s total, respectively.”
In 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law
that requires state-regulated utilities to get 50 percent of their
electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro
by 2030. The original bill, introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, is a part of a larger suite of climate-related legislation introduced this year.
“California is laying the groundwork for a healthier and sustainable future for all of our families,” de Leon said in an emailed statement to ThinkProgress. “We are showing [the]world through innovation how we can transition and increase access to renewable energy while cleaning up the air we breathe, especially in our most polluted communities.”
De Leon said the new steps built on the state’s climate leadership but that “our
efforts to reduce carbon emissions are far from over as global warming
and air pollution remain one of the most important issues of our
generation and one of the greatest threats for generations to come.”
Source: True Activist
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