The size of the systems to be installed is to be somewhat limited and is intended to perform a supplementary role. In early 2020, the CEC decided to give developers the option to build new homes that retrieve solar power from rooftop solar panels or from the Sacramento Municipality Utility District (SMUD)'s offsite solar installations. Developers can pursue community solar projects instead of rooftop panel systems for individual properties if they receive approval from the CEC and local utility company. In May 2018, the 5 commissioners of the California Energy Commission (CEC) voted unanimously to require that nearly all new homes (both single-family and multi-family) under four stories in the state be built with photovoltaic solar panes. Many were installed because of the Million Solar Roof Ĭalifornia also leads the nation in the number of homes which have solar panels installed, totaling over 230,000.
CAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE SECTION 2167 F INSTALL
The program will allocate one billion dollars from the state's greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program over the following decade to incentivize owners of affordable, multi-family buildings to install solar, with a goal of adding 300 MW of capacity. In December 2017, the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. While California hosted the three largest photovoltaic facilities in the world (as of July 2015), there are yet several proposals for even larger facilities seeking regulatory approval in California, such as the 2.7 GW Westlands Solar Park. Both these were superseded, however, by the Solar Star photovoltaic project that went online with 579 MW in June 2015 in Antelope Valley, California, which is located in southern Kern County. A second 550 MW facility, Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, also went online in Riverside County in 2014 and was constructed by First Solar.
In 2014, the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm became the new "world's largest operational" solar facility and went online in San Luis Obispo County, California. By the end of 2013, California had 490 MW of concentrated solar power and 5,183 MW of photovoltaics capacity in operation. The early to mid 2010s saw the sharpest increase in solar development. In 1991, the 354 MW Solar Energy Generating Systems plant (located in San Bernardino County, California) held the title until being bested by the 392 MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a solar thermal plant located in San Bernardino County near the Nevada border. Over the last 20 years, California has been home to a number of the world's largest solar facilities, many of which are located in the Mojave Desert. Size is proportional to total installed capacity. Gold marks denote PV power plants, while red marks represent solar thermal power plants. Ĭlass=notpageimage| Utility-Scale Solar Power Plants in California. In 2020, SEIA estimated that California will increase its solar capacity by over 19,000 MW over the next five years, second behind Texas at 20,000 MW. In October 2020, California ranked as the highest solar power generating state in the nation, producing enough solar capacity to power 8.4 million homes in the state. In 2019, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reported a total of 27,400 MW of solar capacity installed (3,125 MW in 2019 alone), making up 20% of all electricity produced in the state. Much of this is expected to come from solar power via photovoltaic facilities or concentrated solar power facilities. It has been growing rapidly because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, and a Renewable Portfolio Standard which requires that 33% of California's electricity come from renewable resources by 2020, and 60% by 2030. Solar power in California includes utility-scale solar power plants as well as local distributed generation, mostly from rooftop photovoltaics.
Satellite image of Topaz Solar Farm in San Luis Obispo County, California, taken on January 2, 2015, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8