When it comes to a list of
the countries which produce the most solar
power, the United States is a distant fourth, and California solar
power is one of the major reasons why the US is not further down the
list. A major reason for this lies in the laws which California has
passed to try and help alleviate the state’s energy crisis.
California state lawmakers signed a Renewable Portfolio Standard law
bill which required that renewable energy account for at least 20% of
the state’s energy production by 2010. Then in 2008, then California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed another bill which added onto the
original RPS bill and stated that at
least 33% of the state’s energy
production must come from renewable sources by 2020.
A large percentage
of this renewable energy comes from solar power due to the state’s
climate which is extremely conducive to photovoltaic solar systems.
This is especially true in the Mojave Desert, which is where the large
California solar power plants are located.
Solar Power in the Mojave
The Mojave Desert is home
to the largest solar energy installation in
the world, as well as several other large scale solar power plants. The
reason for this is because the Mojave Desert has the best insolation in
the United States.
Insolation is, in very
basic terms, the amount of
solar radiation that reaches the area at one time. The high amount of
insolation and the success of previous projects have led to the growth
of solar energy in this area, and many even bigger solar installations
are under construction or in the planning stages.
Solar Energy Generating
System is the name that has been given to nine
solar power plants in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California.
Construction on the final plant was completed in 1991 by Luz
Industries, who went bankrupt soon after and sold off the plants to
SEGS generates energy
using solar thermal
although approximately 10% of the energy comes from natural gas because
sometimes the solar energy is not enough to meet the electricity needs
of southern California. The nine plants have a total wattage of 354
megawatts, making SEGS the largest solar installation in the world
although this title is set to change hands, possibly several times,
within a matter of years.
The Ivanpah Solar Facility
is currently under construction in southeast
California, and when completed will consist of three separate solar
thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 392 megawatts. Each
plant will consist of a huge array of mirrors which are designed to
redirect and focus the sun’s energy onto a boiler unit contained in a
The sun’s rays heat water
inside the boiler which then
produces steam to power a steam generator. The first plant is the only
one under construction at the moment and they expect the first stage to
be completed in 2013. This first plant is to be equipped with the
largest solar powered steam generator ever to be built.
The number of California
solar energy companies has continued to rise,
and the state is home to some of the top manufacturer’s of solar energy
equipment in the world. Many of the world’s leading solar companies
also have manufacturing plants in California. This is due in large part
to the Renewable Standard Portfolio, but also due to California’s large
population and climate.
Many of the world’s most
manufacturers, such as Sharp
Solar and Mitsubishi, have decided to locate
some of their production facilities in California. This is also due to
the fact that the United States Government passed laws on renewable
energy products to give consumers rebates for buying products which are
produced directly in the USA. Many native Californians have even struck
it rich by starting up their own solar businesses, such as solar
California Solar Energy
California is home to the
largest number of solar training programs in
the United States and is leading the way in solar education at all
levels. In primary and secondary schools, the California Board of
Education has mandated that students must learn about the benefits of
solar power and how it can be used to help reduce the amount of
pollution that we continually release into the atmosphere. This has
helped to contribute to the rise in the amount of homes which are
starting to generate their own solar energy and use it to power and
heat their home.
California is also a
leader in solar
energy education at the university level
as well. In fact, Stanford University has been designing and
constructing solar powered race cars since 1986. Stanford is almost
always an entrant in the World
Solar Challenge, which is the most
famous solar powered car race in the world, requiring teams to drive
almost 2,000 miles in an endurance race across the Australian
The Stanford Solar Car
Project is a student run organization that
oversees all of the aspects of Stanford’s solar race cars including
design and construction. Stanford is also home to some of the top solar
research laboratories in the world.
to Solar Energy
to Solar Energy