Yes, it's that time of year again! Autumnal weather has set in across the Golden State this week. Occasional rain and resulting fog has been the norm for the last week.
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 on the left it never got windy in California yesterday. There was enough sun to energize solar panels for 11 hours. The weather wasn'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 23,000 MWh. Solar energy (PV and thermal) peaked at 11 in the morning and only supplied 21,000 MWh.
Geothermal energy was the number one renewable energy provider - and this is not the only day when it supports the economy here in California.