CanaryMedia: "Chart: California is wasting more and more clean energy." When the sun is shining + the winds are beneficial, solar arrays + wind turbines can put out some serious electrons. But now more often grid operators will not be able to accept all of the free, green energy, + the fraction wasted is called 'curtailment.' It's unsurprising that California is having to waste more power as it keeps adding solar, but curtailments are rising faster than renewable generation capacity is growing. "Last year, curtailments jumped by 29% compared with 2023, while California added only about 12% more utility-scale solar capacity." In a nutshell, preventing this curtailment is a major reason for building out more interstate transmission lines. The other main reason is in the interest of 'grid reliability,' so that areas hit by snowstorms or heatwaves or generator failures can access outside support. "Curtailments are at their highest in California during the spring, when the sun is strong enough to generate a lot of solar power but mild weather keeps air-conditioning use, and thus electricity demand, in check." Besides transmission, battery storage, demand response + other measures address curtailment. The overarching problem is that demand growth has gone into overdrive with cryptocurrency mining [ridiculous], other AI [unstoppable], electrification of vehicles + buildings [heat pumps, induction cooktops]. California 'has installed more utility-scale storage than any other state, and the sector has grown rapidly in recent years: California had a total of 13.2 GW of utility-scale storage online as of last month, far more than the nearly 8 GW it had at the end of 2023.' It will always be the Golden State in my heart.
