Posted on 12/08/2024 2:04:33 PM PST by EscondidoSurfer
California is making so much solar energy that large commercial operators are increasingly forced to stop production, raising questions about the state’s costly plan to shift entirely to carbon-free sources of electricity.
In the past 12 months, California’s solar farms have curtailed production of more than 3 million megawatt hours of solar energy, either on the orders of the state’s grid operator or because prices had plummeted because of the glut, according to an analysis of data by The Los Angeles Times.
That’s enough to power 518,000 California homes for a year, based on average electricity usage.
The amount of curtailed solar power has more than doubled from 1.5 million megawatt hours in 2021, state records show, and is up eight times from levels in 2017.
The waste would have been even larger if California had not paid utilities in other states to take the excess solar energy, documents from the state’s grid operator show. That means green energy paid for by California electricity customers is sent away, lowering bills for residents of other states.
(Excerpt) Read more at sandiegouniontribune.com ...
Only in communism and crony capitalism [fascism] do prices go up when supply exceeds demand.
Lowered our rates? lol
2) Energy is now so insanely plentiful that we have no choice but to raise the price of it.
Just wait and use that solar power at night.
lol.....
And penguins and the polar cola bears really don’t give a ....
There is a LOT wrong with the entire story of electricity in California. On one hand, they supposedly have so much they have people stop producing it and on the other hand, they have brownouts and tell people to not charge their EVs. Something is VERY wrong with the story. But stories like this always end the same way…. Badly.
Yes, and CA already has the highest rates in the US (@ 0.36/kwh) CA even has higher rates than Germany (@0.30/kwh) which some people think is the worst case scenario. It isn’t.
The utilities warned the government of all this 15 years ago.
They were told to shut up.
Because there is no storage, producing lots of solar electricity at the wrong hour does nothing to meet demand when the sun isnt shining.
THAT was before the Enviro-whacko's delayed, protested, constantly Sued, etc. By the time they were done, it (Nuclear power) couldn't compete with hydro or fossil fuels, and was regulated out of existence in Blue States.
Too much at the wrong time, threatens grid stability. No storage capacity means energy is just wasted, or sold at a loss, not available at peak demand around 6 to 9 pm.
Solar and wind are suppose to raise rates , it was the plan ,LOL
You need to read the article. CA produces too much solar and has no way to store it when the sun no longer shines. The entire program is a boondoggle. I installed solar panels before they changed the rules taking away incentives and making it uneconomic. Those without solar panels are paying humungous rates for electricity and there is no escape from it.
“...because prices had plummeted because of the glut...”
So, predictable market forces at work, and CA elects to shut down the ‘clean’ energy?
Certainly shows a commitment to the Green New Deal...(/sarc)
Total housing units in California in 2020 which includes apartments:12,214,549
Their solar doesn’t do much of anything if you think of all the other reals estate like businesses except take up massive amounts of average.
Part of the problem is that they built the solar plants, but they won’t let anyone rebuild the rest of the grid due to NIMBY/BANANAs and envirowackos. They literally don’t have the ability to deliver from the plants to the consumers that need them in many cases. The grid is the bottleneck.
They need to use the excess in potential energy system. I know there is some efficiency losses, but better than wasting it.
Use the power in the daytime to pump water uphill.
Then at night, when there is no solar power, let it flow down again through big turbine generators.
What about factoring in the HUGE demands for electricity because of AI and the burden it places on data centers and other ancillary computer systems?
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