Last year, Ontario was the third largest market for solar photovoltaic installations in North America pushing aside Florida with an installation total of 46 megawatts of solar PV production capacity and was only behind New Jersey, with 57 mw, and California with 212 mw, according to a report by the nonprofit Interstate Renewable Energy Council…Reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada foothills don’t just store water – they can store energy as well. Through a system called pumped hydro storage, water from one reservoir can be released into another downhill, turning turbines along the way and generating electricity when the state’s power grid needs it. Then, when the grid has ample energy, the water is pumped back uphill, to wait until it’s needed again. Six of these systems already exist in California. Now Pacific Gas and Electric wants to build at least one more, arguing that large-scale energy storage will help smooth out the addition of more solar and wind power to the grid. The project is likely to take six years or more to receive all the necessary government permits. The utility, based in San Francisco, asked California regulators on Friday for permission to spend almost $33.5 million to study and design a pumped hydro system in the Mokelumne River watershed in Amador County. Some of the money would also pay for exploring other possible sites, including one in the Kings River watershed in Fresno County. The Mokelumne River project would connect two existing reservoirs that PG&E already uses to generate hydroelectric power on a regular basis: the Lower Bear and Salt Springs reservoirs. Other possible variations would include using Upper Bear Reservoir or a new reservoir that would be built on nearby Cole Creek. Construction of the entire project would cost an estimated $2.5 billion, although the price could vary significantly depending on the final design.
