The Sacramento power utility experience in solar
- Sacramento Municipal Utility District, CA (United States)
In 1989 the electorate of Sacramento voted to close the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant ending a problem-plagued 15 years of operation. Electric rates had doubled in the three years prior to the plant closure and the citizens had enough of nuclear power and were seeking a ``better way`` to meet their energy needs. In the short run the ``better way`` was to buy power from other utilities which had a surplus. That surplus existed because a decade ago the State of California promoted the commercialization of new energy producing technologies like wind, geothermal, biomass, cogeneration and solar. In fact, since 1980 over $20 billion has been invested in building power generation facilities based on these technologies in California. The policy of the State of California to encourage the commercialization of these technologies allowed SMUD to make a smooth transition away from nuclear power. The California power surplus that was brought about by the installation of almost 10,000 MegaWatts of independent power projects in the 1980`s has been whittled away by the closure of Rancho Seco and San Onofre 1 and by rapid population growth. With the short term power contracts expiring this decade SMUD is planning to add about 1000 Mega Watts of new power generation by the year 2000. They have decided to add about 600 Mega Watts of gas-fired cogeneration by 1997 and 400 more of renewable resources or other advance technologies such as fuel cells by the year 2000. Three solar technologies look very promising: central receivers, solar dish/stirling engine systems, and photovoltaics.
- OSTI ID:
- 139741
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9302150--; ISBN 0-89553-251-4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
BIOMASS
CALIFORNIA
CENTRAL RECEIVERS
COGENERATION
COMMERCIALIZATION
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY DEMAND
ENERGY POLICY
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PUBLIC OPINION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
SHUTDOWN
SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION
SOLAR HEAT ENGINES
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
STIRLING CYCLE
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
WIND POWER