PV Gap

Leslie Said:

what tax breaks are there for solar energy in the federal & california level?

We Answered:

don't know

Luis Said:

Where are there solar energy facilities in California? Areas of mining? Areas of cultivation?

We Answered:

Try this website it might help for Agriculture
http://www.essortment.com/all/californiaagric_rwin.htm

Arnold Said:

where are california's major solar energy facilities located at?

We Answered:

The largest solar thermal power station in the world is the SEGS group of 9 power plants in the Mojave Desert (Kramer Junction, Harper Lake, and Daggett) with a combined generating capacity of 354 megawatts.

Kent Said:

how much of california's energy is generated from solar energy?

We Answered:

Most of California's power is generated from coal and nuclear plants located in their neighboring states. Sucks doesn't it? Their "Environmentalists" will not let them build in Cal., but it is fine to pollute Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.

Southern California needs to go back to Mexico.

Terrence Said:

why does california not solve its energy-problem by solar energy?

We Answered:

b/c they can't get their heads out of their behinds

Annie Said:

Could California switch its entire energy consumption to all solar and wind energy?

We Answered:

200bn kWh/year of electricity use, apparently. You will probably need to double or triple this at least to get an approximate idea of the total energy use.
http://www.eredux.com/states/state_detai…


Every kWp of solar panels generate an average 2000kWh/year of electricity in California. So in principle you would need about 100GW of solar panels.

Average efficiency for new CdTe panels from FirstSolar is about 12% (Silicon ones are better, but it costs more per unit of power output). So 1kWp of solar panel would take up 8.33 square metres, ie you need just over 800 square kilometres of solar panels to provide the total electricity consumption over a year.


California's area is over 400,000sq km, so in principle it could provide its electricity needs about 500 times over with solar panels.


The main problem is expense and 'load balancing' (eg providing power at night, or during winter).