Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Solar Power Hits Peak Over 1,000 MW in California-ISO

California's power grid operator said generation from solar power reached 1,003 megawatts (MW), a new peak for the state, on Aug. 14.

Solar power on Aug. 14 saved 10 million pounds (4,535 tonnes) of carbon dioxide output in one day, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) said.

The ISO, in a release late on Wednesday, also said transmission companies expected to complete upgrades of several power lines between 2012 and 2018 that would allow the lines to move about 22,350 MW more renewable generation around the state.

That new transmission will help the state's power companies meet California's 33 percent renewable portfolio standard, which requires the utilities to procure 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

The ISO said most of the power plants that generators sought to connect to the California system in the future were renewable facilities, with more than 27,700 MW of solar and over 7,600 MW of wind power in the queue.

The ISO also said it had more than 15,000 MW of conventional resources, such as natural gas-fired power plants, in the queue seeking to connect to the grid.

The biggest solar plants under construction in California include the 370-MW Ivanpah being built by a partnership among NRG Energy, Google, BrightSource and Bechtel, Abengoa SA's 250-MW project, and NextEra Energy's 250-MW Genesis facilities.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/13/utilities-california-solar-idINL1E8KDG4V20120913

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