A cold front slid across California yesterday bringing rain to the valleys and snow to the Sierra Nevada. It was cloudy and wet throughout the Golden State.
This affected 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 just 9 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 over 24,000 MWh. Solar energy (PV and thermal) peaked at midday and only supplied 21,700 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.
