SDG&E hits renewable record amid state solar spike

OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2015. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) set a renewable generation delivery mark last week as the California grid records ever-rising solar use.

The investor-owned utility, which serves 3.4mn customers in southern California, said it had 1,042MW of wind and solar capacity running on its grid on 19 August, thanks to favorable weather conditions. The number does not include generation from 61,000 customers with rooftop solar systems.

"A combination of bright sunshine and strong wind conditions in the San Diego and Imperial Valley helped to generate the record-setting amount of green energy for our customers," SDG&E chief energy supply officer Scott Drury said.

SDG&E's set its record about an hour before the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) reached a new high for solar of 6,341MW. The grid eclipsed that record on each of the next two days, reaching 6,446MW on 21 August at 12:21pm PT

California's solar capacity on 24 August generated 58,2128MWh of electricity, or about 8pc of the entire systemwide demand of 722,382/MWh across generation sources, according to CAISO data.