As California aims to provide 60% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2045, a Cal Poly study provides some good news. Offshore winds along the Central Coast increase at the same time that people start using more energy — in the evening.
One of the challenges of moving toward fully renewable energy is matching production to demand. Though the state has high existing solar energy capacity and the potential for even more, the supply of solar power peaks in the middle of the day and ends when the sun goes down. Consumer demand, on the other hand, peaks in the evening when people return from work around or after sunset.
Because storage of solar energy on a large scale is not yet practical, other renewable sources are needed to meet the Golden State’s environmental milestone of going fully renewable.
Read more: California Polytechnic State University
The Central Coast of California may be a good candidate for an offshore wind farm similar to this one in Scotland (Photo Credit: Yi-Hui Wang and Ben Ruttenberg)