Last week, California set a new record for wholesale solar generation on the grid: 2,505 MW, set on August 8, 2013. Nice!
But note that this figure does not include customer-owned generation — i.e. the rooftop solar that residences and commercial customers use to power their own buildings instead of selling to the utility. That adds another 1,636 MW and counting (about 30-40 MW a month).
And this is just the beginning. Another ~2,800 MW of wholesale solar is due to come online before the end of the year (see this report from the CPUC). The good times are just beginning.
Real-time Renewable Energy Production on California’s Utility Grid. Source:CAISO