Solar power in California
Encyclopedia
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 resource
s 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 mile 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. In 2008, the state decided that it was not moving forward fast enough on photovoltaic generation and enacted a Feed-in Tariff
.
plant, completed in 1991.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (392 MW), located 40 mile southwest of Las Vegas
, is the world's largest solar thermal power project currently under construction. The project is developed by BrightSource Energy
and Bechtel
. 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 tower
s.
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
.
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.
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.
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 6000 acres (2,428.1 ha) of land.
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
.
which requires that 20% of California
's electricity come from renewable resource
s by 2010, and 33% by 2020. Much of this is expected to come from solar power.
According to a recent report by the California Public Utilities Commission
, California failed to meet the 20% renewables by 2010 target. Pacific Gas & Electric 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.
At the end of 2010, California had 1,386 MW of solar and 3,177 MW 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.
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.
Many of the homes, schools and businesses which have installed solar panels can be monitored online on the internet.
, 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.
Renewable Portfolio Standard
A Renewable Portfolio Standard is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal...
which requires that 20% of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's electricity come from renewable resource
Renewable resource
A renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability of being replaced through biological or other natural processes and replenished with the passage of time...
s 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
Solar Energy Generating Systems
Solar Energy Generating Systems is the largest solar energy generating facility in the world. It consists of nine solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert, where insolation is among the best available in the United States...
plant, completed in 1991. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (392 MW), located 40 mile southwest of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, 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. In 2008, the state decided that it was not moving forward fast enough on photovoltaic generation and enacted a Feed-in Tariff
Feed-in Tariff
A feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. It achieves this by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology...
.
Solar thermal power
The largest solar power installation in the world is the 354 MW solar thermal SEGSSolar Energy Generating Systems
Solar Energy Generating Systems is the largest solar energy generating facility in the world. It consists of nine solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert, where insolation is among the best available in the United States...
plant, completed in 1991.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (392 MW), located 40 mile southwest of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, is the world's largest solar thermal power project currently under construction. The project is developed by BrightSource Energy
BrightSource Energy
BrightSource Energy is an Oakland, California, corporation that designs, builds, finances and operates utility-scale solar power plants that deliver clean, low-cost solar energy to utility and industrial customers worldwide at prices that compete with fossil fuels.Greentech Media ranked...
and Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
. The project has received a $1.375 billion loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
. It will deploy 347,000 heliostat
Heliostat
A heliostat is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions in the sky. The target may be a physical object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space...
mirrors focusing solar energy on boilers located on centralized solar power tower
Solar power tower
The solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...
s.
The Blythe Solar Power Project
Blythe Solar Power Project
The Blythe Solar Power Project is a solar power station under construction in Riverside County, California. The project is being developed by Solarhybrid/Solar Millennium's subsidiary Solar Trust of America, in a joint venture with Chevron Energy Solutions....
is a proposed 968 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Riverside County, California
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
. It will be of parabolic trough
Parabolic trough
A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal energy collector. It is constructed as a long parabolic mirror with a Dewar tube running its length at the focal point. Sunlight is reflected by the mirror and concentrated on the Dewar tube...
design, and the companies involved are Solar Millennium
Solar Millennium
Solar Millennium is a German globally active company in the renewable energy sector founded in 1998 in Erlangen, Germany, which is specialized in the designing and implementation of solar thermal power plants...
and Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
.
The Calico Solar Energy Project
Calico Solar Energy Project
The Calico Solar Energy Project is a proposed 850 MW solar power station to be located in San Bernardino County, California on of Bureau of Land Management land. Probably it will be mixed design of 750 MW photovoltaics and 100 MW of solar thermal....
is a proposed 850 MW solar thermal power station to be located in San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
. It will be of stirling engine
Stirling engine
A Stirling engine is a heat engine operating by cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas, the working fluid, at different temperature levels such that there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work....
design and the company involved is Tessera Solar.
The Imperial Valley Solar Project
Imperial Valley Solar Project
The Imperial Valley Solar Project 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. Project was approved by California Energy Commission on September 29 2010.Phase 1 of...
(formerly SES Solar Two) is a proposed 709 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Imperial County, California
Imperial County, California
Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area, which encompasses all of Imperial County. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the...
. It will be of stirling engine
Stirling engine
A Stirling engine is a heat engine operating by cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas, the working fluid, at different temperature levels such that there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work....
design and the company involved is Tessera Solar.
Solel
Solel
Solel Solar Systems Ltd. is an Israeli solar thermal equipment designer and manufacturer based in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Solel makes equipment for solar thermal power plants, facilities that use the sun's heat to create steam and turn an electricity generator....
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
Mojave Solar Park
The Mojave Solar Park is a solar thermal power facility under construction in the Mojave Desert in California, which is located 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles near Barstow. The 280 MW concentrating solar power plant will cost an estimated $1.6 billion in total and should be completed in 2014...
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 6000 acres (2,428.1 ha) of land.
The Genesis Solar Energy Project is a proposed 250 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Riverside County, California
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
. It will be of parabolic trough
Parabolic trough
A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal energy collector. It is constructed as a long parabolic mirror with a Dewar tube running its length at the focal point. Sunlight is reflected by the mirror and concentrated on the Dewar tube...
design, and the company involved is NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources is an wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources was known as FPL Energy....
.
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.Renewable Portfolio Standard
Solar power in California has been growing rapidly, because of a Renewable Portfolio StandardRenewable Portfolio Standard
A Renewable Portfolio Standard is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal...
which requires that 20% of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's electricity come from renewable resource
Renewable resource
A renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability of being replaced through biological or other natural processes and replenished with the passage of time...
s by 2010, and 33% by 2020. Much of this is expected to come from solar power.
According to a recent report by the California Public Utilities Commission
California Public Utilities Commission
The California Public Utilities Commission is a regulatory agency which regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies...
, California failed to meet the 20% renewables by 2010 target. Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
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.
At the end of 2010, California had 1,386 MW of solar and 3,177 MW 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
Distributed generation
Distributed generation, also called on-site generation, dispersed generation, embedded generation, decentralized generation, decentralized energy or distributed energy, generates electricity from many small energy sources....
, 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.
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.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.According to the CPUC
California Public Utilities Commission
The California Public Utilities Commission is a regulatory agency which regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies...
, homeowners, businesses, and local governments installed 158 MW of solar photovoltaics
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...
(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.
Many of the homes, schools and businesses which have installed solar panels can be monitored online on the internet.
Alameda County
Using a 20-year property assessment known as PACE FinancingPACE Financing
PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy. In areas with PACE legislation in place municipality governments offer a specific bond to investors and then turn around and loan the money to consumers and businesses to put towards an energy retrofit. The loans are repaid over the assigned term via...
, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
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.