California has driven the development of solar panel energy

In several directions, California has driven the development of solar panel energy in the United States. As California proceeds to develop more and more solar panels and regenerates its path to electricity preparation, it has even started to reject the succession of contracts to existing gas plants in favor of clean energy alternatives.

California was one of only three states in 2017 to get more than 10% of its power from solar but has not stopped there. According to an analysis of data from California’s grid operator compiled by PV magazine collaborator and self-described data geek Joe Deely, in May solar generation in the area managed by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) rose to a new record of 3.02 terawatt-hours (TWh), representing nearly 17% of in-state generation. With local gas generation falling to only 2.67 TWh or around 15%, this means that solar provided more electricity for Californians than in-state gas for the first time ever on a monthly basis.

It is essential to regard that as CAISO does not track rooftop solar or other solar contemporaries following a customer measure, all of the solar schemes in the state truly produced as much as 50% more electricity than the CAISO figures show.

California will probably see a cheaper level of solar panel production

It is imperative to look past these two sources of production to get a precise picture of what is going on here. While hydro generation has fallen from its high of 18% last May, it still provided 12% of electricity generation during the month, which is higher than in the drought years of 2014 and 2015.
 
Nonetheless, the long-term course of solar panels and other renewables replacing gas is clear. Not only has California been using less gas for electricity generation every year for at least the past four years, but in 2017 the United States saw its first year-over-year decline in gas use since 2013.
 

Solar panel installation transition

The United States has been establishing gas factories for the first two decades of the 21st century, as cheap gas has beaten out both coal and nuclear power on pure economics. However, when you add to the trends in California and nationally the ability of wind and solar plus battery storage to supply power on demand, it points to a limited future for natural gas as a dominant form of electricity generation.
 

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 
20 years. 

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.