Solar electricity production in California falls into two categories - solar thermal, using the concentrated heat of sunlight to heat a fluid to make steam to turn a traditional turbine and generator making electricity; and solar photovoltaic (PV), the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity.
California has the largest solar market in the U.S. and solar supplies nearly 19 percent of the state’s electricity today.
While solar must play a bigger role if the state is to reach its very ambitious climate and energy goals, natural disasters, and additional taxes have hampered solar's strong and continued growth in the state.
Thousands of homes in California have been damaged or destroyed in recent years because of wildfires and some cities or counties have taxed utility services, such as solar electricity, as one potential source of local revenues.
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Derick founded pvbuzz.com in 2014. He has over 10 years experience in the solar industry and holds a second Masters in Environmental Science & Policy from Clark University, MA, USA—on a Fulbright Scholarship. As Managing Editor for pvbuzz.com, he coordinates content contributors, oversees all aspects of the publication, maintains the web platform, and also writes copy, while publishing and monitoring social media posts for the platform.
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