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Some statistical highlights from geothermal energy in California

Some statistical highlights from geothermal energy in California Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California (source: flickr/ jeffgunn, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas 4 Sep 2014

The California Energy Commission has released new statistics on renewables in their territory that highlight the crucial impact of geothermal in the region.

California has been expanding its renewable energies in order to address current legislation that asks for more renewables, lower emissions, and greener alternatives. New targets are set to have at least 33% of all energy generated to be renewable by 2020.

In  order to achieve these goals, sun and wind power are dominant, yet the weight of geothermal is very relevant to the overall mix of the energy supply.

According to recent figures of the California Energy Commission, here a few key figures on geothermal energy in California:

  • Wholesale capacity: 2,700 MW or 16% of total renewable energy capacity in California
  • Geothermal power generation: around 12,000 GWhs or around 20% of all renewable power generated in California
  • Geothermal projects online in California (as of June 30, 2014): 44 with a total capacity of 2,753 MWe
  • Geothermal projects that have received environmental permits: 6 with a total potential capacity of 566 MWe

The full document has extensive information regarding all renewables and can be accessed on the link below:

Source: Energy Commission of California Website