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Solar power could be the answer as Southern California’s electricity supplier

solar rooftop arrayCould Solar Power Ride to the Rescue in Southern California? The closing of San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant leaves a region worried about how to meet summer energy demands. Take Part, June 14, 2013 “…….The answer could be solar power: Utility-scale solar in California hit a 2,000-megawatt milestone on June 7, the same day SoCal Edison voted to shutter its nuclear plant. Last September, 1,000 megawatts was a breakthrough, but California’s solar capacity kept growing throughout the winter, and doubled in nine months. Don’t assume that the new solar power can be perfectly swapped out for the nuclear power, though; the nuclear plant was producing its 2,250 megawatts 24 hours a day, while the solar output is at its highest for only a few hours at a time……

Political activist Cindy Asner thinks fears surrounding San Onofre’s closure have been overblown. She tells TakePart of a conversation with a SoCal Edison executive fretting about people who wouldn’t have air conditioning during the summer. “I was worried about Fukushima, and they were worried about air conditioning? It’s preposterous!” She points to American ingenuity: “during World War II, we were on rations, but the American people found a way.”
In its latest report, the federal Energy Information Administration shows two states with summer power concerns: California and Texas. Yes, that reliably coal-and-natural-gas-powered red state is at greater risk for rolling blackouts than California. Expect a disproportionate amount of media attention on California, though, as pro-nuclear folks lament the loss of another plant and anti-renewable energy folks complain that solar is unreliable….. http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/06/14/could-solar-power-ride-rescue-southern-california

June 15, 2013 - Posted by | general

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