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Solar power in California

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Insolation on developable areas of the SW United States.

Solar power in California has been growing rapidly, because of a Renewable Portfolio Standard which requires that 20% of California's electricity come from renewable resources by 2010, and 33% by 2020. Much of this is expected to come from solar power.

The largest solar power installation in the world is the 354 MW solar thermal SEGS plant, completed in 1991. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (392 MW), located 40 miles (60 km) southwest of Las Vegas, is the world's largest solar thermal power project currently under construction.

California leads the nation in the total number of homes which have solar panels installed. Many were installed because of the million solar roof initiative.[1] In 2008, the state decided that it was not moving forward fast enough on photovoltaic generation and enacted a Feed-in Tariff.[2][3]

Solar thermal power

Main article: Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert

The largest solar power installation in the world is the 354 MW solar thermal SEGS plant, completed in 1991.

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (392 MW), located 40 miles (60 km) southwest of Las Vegas, is the world's largest solar thermal power project currently under construction.[4] The project is developed by BrightSource Energy and Bechtel.[5] The project has received a $1.375 billion loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy. It will deploy 347,000 heliostat mirrors focusing solar energy on boilers located on centralized solar power towers.[4]

The Blythe Solar Power Project is a proposed 968 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Riverside County, California. It will be of parabolic trough design, and the companies involved are Solar Millennium and Chevron.[6]

The Calico Solar Energy Project is a proposed 850 MW solar thermal power station to be located in San Bernardino County, California. It will be of stirling engine design and the company involved is Tessera Solar.[6]

The Imperial Valley Solar Project (formerly SES Solar Two) is a proposed 709 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Imperial County, California. It will be of stirling engine design and the company involved is Tessera Solar.[6]

Solel has signed a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to build the world's largest solar plant in the Mojave Desert. When fully operational in 2011, the proposed Mojave Solar Park will have an installed capacity of 553 megawatts of solar power, calculated to power 400,000 homes, to PG&E’s customers in northern and central California. The plant will cover up to 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of land.[7][8]

The Genesis Solar Energy Project is a proposed 250 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Riverside County, California. It will be of parabolic trough design, and the company involved is NextEra Energy Resources.[6]

Photovoltaics

Main article: Photovoltaics

The goal is to install 3,000 MW by 2016. California has more photovoltaics installed than any other state, and 69% of the total in 2007. For the first time in 2008 the installed photovoltaics exceeded the states 354 MW of solar thermal.[9]

Renewable Portfolio Standard

Main article: Renewable Portfolio Standard

California increased the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 33% by 2020 in 2008. Each utility is also required to reach 20% by 2010. In 2006, California produced (and/or imported) about 295,000 gigawatt-hours (GW·h) of electricity, which is expected to decrease by 10% over the ten year period beginning in 2009, due to efficiency increases. The principle renewable sources in 2006 were hydroelectricity, 48,431 GW·h, geothermal, 13,226, organic waste, 5,682, wind power, 4,420, and solar power, 616.[10] The capacity factor (efficiency) of solar is approximately 20%, so 30,000 GWh (roughly 33% of total generation, subtracting other sources) would require approximately 150,000GWh (17,100MW) of solar power. Wind, at a capacity factor of 30%, would require 100,000GWh (11,400MW) of wind farms to produce the same total. At the end of 2010, California had 1,386MW[11][12] of solar and 3,177MW[13] of wind farms. California officials are now attempting to import the form of feed-in tariffs, a tool similar to what Europe has been using, to encourage the solar power industry. Proposals were raised aiming to create a small-scale solar market in California that brings the benefits of the German market, such as distributed generation, which avoids the need for transmission because power is generated close to where it's used, and avoid the drawbacks such as excessively high payments that could become a burden on utility customers.[14]

According to a recent report by the California Public Utilities Commission, California failed to meet the 20% threshold in 2010. Pacific Gas & Electric Co and Southern California Edison were the closest to meeting the goal. PG&E generated 17.7% of the electricity it sold in 2010 from renewable sources while SCE was the closest to hitting the RPS goal by producing 19.4% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2010. San Diego Gas & Electric, on the other hand, generated only 11.9% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2010.[15]

California Solar Initiative

Main article: California Solar Initiative

The California Solar Initiative is a 2006 initiative to install 3,000 MW of additional solar power by 2016. Included in it is the million solar roof initiative.[16]

Net metering

Main article: Net metering

California has a favorable net metering law, being one of five states to receive an A, while five states received an F, in an evaluation of the 38 states plus Washington D.C. which have net metering.[17]

According to the CPUC, homeowners, businesses, and local governments installed 158 MW of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2008, doubling the 78 MW installed in 2007, giving California a cumulative total of 441 MW of distributed solar PV systems, the highest in the country.[18]

Many of the homes, schools and businesses which have installed solar panels can be monitored online on the internet.[19]

Alameda County

Main article: Solar power in Alameda County

Using a 20-year property assessment known as PACE Financing, Berkeley plans to be the first city in the country to allow thousands of residents to obtain solar power without any initial payment. In the plan, property owners pay as much in increased property taxes as they save in energy costs, allowing them to install the panels for free at no cost to the city. Thirty eight projects are being installed for the pilot stage of the program.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Million Solar Roofs Initiative
  2. ^ Are Feed-in Tariffs a Possibility in California?
  3. ^ California Approves Feed-In Tariffs, Rewards Energy Efficiency
  4. ^ a b Todd Woody. In California’s Mojave Desert, Solar-Thermal Projects Take Off Yale Environment 360, 27 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Solar energy plant in California gets new partner in NRG". Power Engineering International. PennWell Corporation. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  6. ^ a b c d Top 6 Utility-scale Fast-tracked Solar Projects Renewable Energy World, September 1, 2010.
  7. ^ Israeli company to build largest solar park in world in US Ynetnews, July 26, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  8. ^ Looking to the sun, Tom Parry, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, August 15, 2007.
  9. ^ California Solar Photovoltaic Statistics & Data retrieved 01 March 2009
  10. ^ California Electrical Energy Generation
  11. ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (October 2010). "2009 U.S. State Clean Energy Data Book" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
  12. ^ Sherwood, Larry (June 2011). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  13. ^ "Wind Energy Facts: California 2011-Q1" (PDF). American Wind Energy Association. May 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  14. ^ "California Eyes Euro-Style Market For Solar" (htm). DOW JONES NEWSWIRES. Octoboer 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) [dead link]
  15. ^ California Utilities Do Not Meet 2010 Renewable Energy Goal
  16. ^ The California Solar Initiative
  17. ^ Report: States Falling Short on Interconnection and Net Metering
  18. ^ CPUC Press Release
  19. ^ Live monitoring
  20. ^ Berkeley FIRST retrieved 4 February 2009
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