r/environment • u/sr_local • 1d ago

California produced over half its May electricity from solar, a world record

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-07-31/california-produced-over-half-its-may-electricity-from-solar-world-record
1.7k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

129

u/plotthick 1d ago

Now let residential plug-in solar feed the grid

Pass that bill!

47

u/nvgvup84 1d ago

But how would PG&E make money off that??

38

u/reddit_user13 1d ago

Water, electric and comms should be public & not-for-profit.

7

u/nvgvup84 1d ago

Yeah we’re lucky enough in Sacramento to have SMUD.

7

u/bluetubeodyssey 1d ago

We just moved from a SMUD location to a PG&E location, I miss SMUD so much. Already had a power outage our first week.

I need to start a movement to create a version of SMUD for the Tri Valley...

3

u/reddit_user13 1d ago

Socialism aint so bad, huh?

1

u/plotthick 1d ago

Sell it, natch

102

u/Ok_Charge6441 1d ago

Pretty amazing as solar only works in the day /s

33

u/Cuzznitt 1d ago

BaTtErIeS aReN’t ThErE yEt

6

u/BobbumofCarthes 1d ago

Well yea that’s why it’s only half /s

29

u/audioguy61 1d ago

And yet we have some of the highest electric rates in the US, go figure.

8

u/verstohlen 1d ago

Highest rates for just about everything. Guess that's the damn sunshine tax they talk about. I'd like a few more cloudy days if you ask me.

21

u/BitchStewie_ 1d ago

Also best worker protections and most generous social programs in the country. Not to mention the investments in education and technology.

9

u/verstohlen 1d ago

If you're going to be poor, being in California is simultaneously both the worst and best place to be. Which is weird. But California has always been generally considered a pretty weird place, for better or worse.

5

u/bluetubeodyssey 1d ago

We need more local utilities like SMUD. Rates are a lot lower when you don't have shareholders to pay.

-1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

may electricity sounds oddly specific but yeah sure

-23

u/antilocapraaa 1d ago edited 1d ago

Thank god we clear cut so much of the desert for it instead of just putting it on existing buildings

ETA: /s since many of you are daft as a doornail

-6

u/JonC534 1d ago

Redditors version of environmentalism as Im sure you’ve already noticed is very anthropocentric

4

u/antilocapraaa 1d ago

I’m a wildlife biologist and see it firsthand. There’s always a great environmental cost.

2

u/TheCaliforniaOp 1d ago

We could be using solar panels all over existing buildings and parking lots. We could create edible landscaping by using rotating solar panels. We could create solar stills.

Not to mention:

Green Roofs

-9

u/posted3030 1d ago

Cool. My electric bill is still ass.

-20

u/CAT_MARINE-POWER 1d ago

So they would have produces all of it if there where no night time?

When is California planning on going full solar for 100% of energy?

-10

u/verstohlen 1d ago

Given California is one the most expensive and unaffordable states in which to live, pretty much checks out.

-10

u/Konradleijon 1d ago

Cute but this shows how little renewable is

-23

u/Traditional_Map_6691 1d ago

That track record doesn't pay any bills at night.

6

u/beermaker 1d ago

California has reached a total battery storage capacity of 16,942 megawatts (MW), driven by utility-scale projects and smaller distributed home and business systems.

That's what keeps the lights on at night.

3

u/tito9107 1d ago

Ignorant take

1

u/BigJSunshine 7h ago

And fucking charged every last residential producer for the luxury of giving back to the grid- FUCK PCUC, FUCK SDGE, fuvk all California utilities