California’s Sizzling #Solar #Energy Busts Through 3 gigawatts!

For the first time, California's utility-scale solar power production has topped 3,000 megawatts (or, if you prefer, 3 gigawatts). The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the grid for much of the state, tweeted that solar generation hit a record 3,048 MW at 12:02 p.m. on Thursday.

To put 3,000 MW in perspective, the average coal-fired unit in the United States in 2011 could generate 228 MW of power, according to the Energy Information Administration – so at noon on Thursday, California's solar farms were doing the work of about 13 such units.

What's remarkable about the figure is that exactly one year earlier, on Jan. 2, 2013, the state had also set a record – 1,235 MW. That means that in a single year, peak utility-scale solar power production in California has risen nearly 150 percent.

What's behind the increase?

Several big solar plants have been added in recent months in California – led by the 

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