California is producing so much clean energy using solar farms that it sometimes has to pay utilities in other states to take some of it away.The news comes in a Los Angeles Times report which also says in the past 12 months California has forgone enough solar energy to power 518,000 homes for a year (three million megawatt-hours), due to supply exceeding demand and an inability to store the surplus.California produces more solar power than any other state and has a law stating that by 2030, at least 60 percent of its electricity must come from renewable sources. The Golden State also has the second most expensive electricity in the Union, behind only Hawaii, at around double the national average.When California’s solar farms produce a surplus which battery storage cannot handle, to prevent grid overload, the state exports power. This is frequently sold at below the market rate, essentially subsidized by California energy consumers, and at times other states have to be paid to take surplus electricity if they have no demand for it.California’s electricity grid is run by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), a nonprofit company which has its board appointed by the governor.According to a CAISO report, in 2022 California sold surplus electricity cheaply to the Public Service Company of New Mexico, which said it saved $34 million through the scheme, along with PacifiCorp, Avista Corp. and Tacoma Power.
Wind turbines operate at a wind farm near solar panels on March 06, 2024 near Palm Springs, California. The Golden State has reportedly been paying utilities in neighboring states to take some of its surplus…
Wind turbines operate at a wind farm near solar panels on March 06, 2024 near Palm Springs, California. The Golden State has reportedly been paying utilities in neighboring states to take some of its surplus electricity.
Mario Tama/GETTY
When asked how much California had paid for utility companies to take its surplus electricity CAISO official Guillermo Bautista-Alderete replied: “We don’t track that number specifically.”Newsweek contacted CAISO and Governor Gavin Newsom for comment via email on Wednesday outside regular office hours.The Times reported that one reason California sometimes ends up with an electricity surplus is because solar farms keep producing when the market price falls to zero, or even turns negative, as they are incentivized to do so by federal tax and renewable energy credits.Speaking to the publication, Shannon Eddy, executive director of trade group the Large-Scale Solar Association, admitted “other states do benefit” from California’s overproduction but said this “helps reduce carbon emissions more regionally.”She added: “Successfully increasing storage and solar together will reduce our reliance on natural gas power plants, helping to meet California’s clean energy goals.”In April it was announced that for the first time in California’s history renewable energy had met 100 percent of the state’s energy