California sun

California Independent System Operator Corporation—or more commonly, California ISO—the state power grid’s main operator, announced a new milestone in August: California produced more than a gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) of solar power—on the public grid alone. Several new records came during a heat wave in late August, helping generate 1,052 megawatts on August 23; 1,064 megawatts on August 27; and 1,076 megawatts on August 31. A gigawatt is approximately the power created by two large gas-fired power plants. Already the nation’s largest solar producer, California will quickly eclipse these records as it strives to obtain one-third of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.