California has potential for 17 million MW of solar capacity
California has potential for 17 million
MW of solar capacity
SACRAMENTO, California, US, May 25,
2005 (Refocus Weekly) The state of California
has the technical potential to install 16,822,184
MW of solar PV, according to a white paper from the
California Energy Commission.
That capacity in 29 counties could generate 100,139,176
MWh of green power a year, estimates the draft ‘California
Solar Resources in Support of the 2005 Integrated
Energy Policy Report.’
“California has enormous, although largely untapped
solar resources,” with current capacity of 350
MW of concentrating solar power facilities and 100
MW of solar PV. While analyses of solar resources
show that “PV can be deployed beneficially almost
anywhere in California,” while CSP facilities
require higher concentrations of solar resources and
are more suited to the southeastern part of the state.
“Ignoring economic constraints, the technical
potential for PV in California exceeds 17 million
MW of capacity. If applied to existing residential
and commercial rooftops, the technical PV potential
exceeds 74,000 MW of capacity. If CSP facilities are
deployed only in those areas where the annual average
direct-normal insolation exceeds 6 kWh per day per
square meter, the CSP technical potential exceeds
1,000 MW of capacity,” it concludes.
Renewables currently generate 11% of the state’s
electricity, and the Renewable Portfolio Standard
established in 2002 requires power suppliers to procure
at least 1% of their electricity from green power
resources in a goal of achieving a 20% renewable mix
by 2017. The state Energy Commission, Public Utilities
Commission and Power Authority recently approved the
Energy Action Plan to accelerate that 20% target date
to 2010.
The white paper is designed to estimate the solar
resources within the state which could be used to
meet the RPS and EAP goals, and updates the resource
information contained in the 2003 Renewable Resources
Development Report.
California’s new home market is growing at 200,000
homes per year and building-integrated PV “has
the potential to significantly increase the market
growth of PV systems in California,” and the
installation of 2.5 kW BIPV systems on 2% of new homes
would result in a first year growth of 10 MW of new
PV capacity. If the percentage of new homes with BIPV
systems increased to 10%, the contribution of electricity
at the end the first decade would be 400 MW of generating
capacity, and a 50% level would mean the total electricity
contribution from PV could be 1,800 MW by 2017.
“The technical potential associated with developing
PV for central station applications and on residential
and commercial rooftops exceeds 17 million MW of capacity,”
the report notes. “If PV is developed in the
nearer term only as residential and commercial rooftop
systems, the technical potential is still in excess
of 75,000 MW of capacity. While not treated in this
white paper, the actual amount of PV to be developed
in California will be largely determined by economics
and the special benefits that PV systems may provide
to communities.”
Unlike PV, CSP systems can use only direct normal
insolation to generate electricity, and the technical
potential assumes that level locations with clear
and high solar resources are the most technically
appropriate location. The report examined only locations
with above-average solar radiation of 6 kWh per day
per m2 and no more than 1% slope, and also excluded
urban areas, forests, water, roads and any sensitive
areas and parks. Of the 16 counties which meet those
parameters, the state-wide CSP technical potential
is 1,000 MW of capacity which could generate 2,717,544,893
MWh of green power.
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