Wednesday, January 21, 2015

USA, California:

Yesterday, Geothermal Energy Was the Number One Renewable in California

Geothermal energy in California supplies a steady 1,078 MW, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year


The weather here in northern California has been foggy recently. The visibility can be just a few hundred yards and when it burns off the fog gives way to a lot of low cloud. A high pressure system sits over the west coast and refuses to budge.

This affects electricity generation especially wind and solar. When the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine these renewable energy providers suffer.

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) measures the output from renewable energy providers to the State grid. As you can see in the graph above it never got very windy in California yesterday. There was enough sun to energize solar panels for 10 hours. The weather isn't cooperating.

However, geothermal energy was still plugging away, supplying a constant supply of clean, dependable, renewable energy 24/7, 365 days a year.

In fact, yesterday in California, geothermal energy was the biggest provider of electricity to the CAISO grid, with almost 26,000 MWh. Solar energy (PV and thermal) peaked at noon and only supplied 16,700 MWh. Wind provided a meagre 4,600 MWh.

Yesterday, geothermal energy was the number one renewable energy provider in the Golden State again - and this is not the only day when it supports the economy here in California.