The state of California in the United States is often referred to as the Golden State. Some believe it is the richest state in the country, due to the economic viability of the area.
The state, for the past years, has tried to take advantage in technological advancements, of producing renewable energy to supply clean and affordable electricity to the growing number of businesses and households in the state. At the California Valley Solar Farm, near Santa Margarita, about 749,088 solar panels have been installed to trap sunlight for commercial use.
State laws have placed pressure on electricity utility providers to obtain 33% of the power they sell from the sun, wind and other renewable sources by 2020. The state hopes to get 50% of its electricity source from renewables by 2030. This ambitious target is aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions in the state.
The good news from the state, as reported by the Good News Network, is that for the first time in the history of the United States, California has produced enough solar energy to power over six million homes. This milestone achievement is said to have happened on July 12, 2016.
According to the Independent System Operator (ISO), several large solar plants in the Golden State briefly produced a record 8,030 megawatts of electricity, to be distributed to consumers. ISO is the organization that runs the majority of California’s power grids.
The 8,030 megawatts of electricity recorded was produced only from large solar plants in the state. At the same time, small and medium solar panels on rooftops were also generating around 4,211 megawatts of electricity to over 537,000 houses and businesses. The state is gradually bustling with solar power. Clean energy advocates have celebrated the good news.
ISO said this solar production record demonstrates that California is making significant strides toward meeting its renewables goal by 2020. It is believed the future of energy production is going to be green and clean.
Steven Greenly, an official from ISO told the Good News Network in an interview that “there is just over 4,211 megawatts of rooftop solar in California. I can tell you we had a great solar day.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, renewables are on the rise in California. It is said the increasing use of solar and wind energy by households, pushes up electricity rates between 1 and 2% each year. This has contributed to the gradual fall of price in renewable energy.
The growing availability and declining price of renewables has led the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to announce its closure of the last nuclear plant in California, the Diablo Canyon in 2025. PG&E is California’s largest electric utility company. The company has pledged to replace the nuclear plant with electricity sources that don’t pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; the utility would get 55% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2031.
Currently, PG&E gets around 30% of its electricity from renewable sources. Chief Executive Officer of the company, Tony Earley said they are aiming for 33% of renewables by the end of 2016. This, he believed, will be a game changer in the sector of the state.
He confessed that the company is forced to target renewables because prices have fallen recently. Mr Earley was quoted as saying that “each time we go out for bids, renewable prices have been going down, particularly photovoltaic (solar), and we have no reason to believe that’s not going to continue.”
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