In numbers: California's remarkable renewables streak | The Progress Playbook
 Graphic: Sean Creighton/The Progress Playbook
California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, now regularly generates more renewable energy than it needs, data from the system operator shows.
On 34 of the 42 days to April 18, the US state saw periods where wind, solar and hydro output exceeded total electricity demand, according to Stanford University Professor Mark Z. Jacobson, who has been tracking California’s hot streak.
Over the period, renewables met 61.4% of the state’s demand, on average. The maximum contribution was 122.5%.
And during the evening peak on April 16, another milestone was hit when big batteries discharged 6.2GW of instantaneous power into the grid. Batteries were the single-largest source of supply at the time, covering a fifth of the state’s electricity supply.
 At one point on April 16, grid-scale batteries discharged 6.2GW of instantaneous power into the grid, a new record.California is a world leader in the adoption of solar technologies, sourcing close to 30% of its electricity directly from the sun. It’s also in the midst of a big battery boom, with another 5.2GW of storage expected to come online this year.
Here’s how it got to this point.
(Next post) |
