Summary:

The state’s grid operator reported breaking 11 GW of electricity from large-scale solar power on Saturday April 13

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Main Article:

California already leads the nation in solar power installation.

Last year, the “Golden State” installed 3.3 out of the 10.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic capacity in 2018, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

This adds to the 23 GW of installed solar, which makes up nearly 17 percent of the electricity in California.

In fact, it is a growing employment sector in the state with 86,000 people connected to the industry.
California is home to vast solar installations and more solar farms and residential solar systems are coming on board every day.

And that solar power muscle is starting to show.

Just before 2:00 p.m. on Saturday April 13, California’s grid operator reported breaking 11 GW of power from large-scale solar; on March 25, the last previous record was 10.8 GW.

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) also reported about twenty minutes before that the grid was exporting a record 1.5 GW of electricity, and last Wednesday it hit 93 percent clean electricity for a moment.

Notably, the figures don’t include behind-the-meter solar, which include rooftop and other smaller solar installations connected to the distribution grid, which can produce around 50 percent more solar. 

Also, the numbers don’t include two of the major areas of the state, since the cities of Los Angeles and Sacramento are not part of the CAISO grid.