California
Daytime Solar Power Glut in California, Rooftop Sales Plunge 90 Percent
Demand for rooftop solar systems dries up in California after subsidies drop. 100 contractors go out of business. Fancy that.
California Home-Solar Boom Collapses
The Wall Street Journal reports The Home-Solar Boom Gets a ‘Gut Punch’
The amount of solar power U.S. homeowners install could shrink 13% this year, as forecast by the trade group Solar Energy Industries Association and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. More than a hundred solar contractors have already gone out of business during the past year as demand dried up, according to data tracked by Solar Insure, a company that monitors residential solar installations and helps fix problems.
The state has installed so many panels that it has a glut of solar power during the day. Last year, California implemented new rules that cut the amount of compensation most rooftop solar owners get for the electricity they send to the grid by 75% or more to manage the oversupply and soaring costs for upgrading the grid.
“It was like getting a gut punch,” says Carlos Beccar, marketing director of Fresno-based Energy Concepts, a solar installer that had to lay off more than half its 75 employees after sales plummeted as much as 90% following the new rules.
California’s solar growth is outpacing the ability of its grid to handle it. The state already supplies more than a third of its power with renewables, and it plans to raise that ratio to 60% by 2030. But because the state’s grid can’t absorb all the solar power generated during the day, it ends up throwing increasing amounts of it away or curtailing it.
Quote of the Day
When David Phippen, a third-generation almond grower in central California, first installed solar panels in 2009 to help power equipment on his farm, he recalls thinking it was “the best thing since canned beer.”
Under the old solar-compensation rules, the economics worked out. But now that those payments will be slashed, adding more solar no longer makes sense, says Phippen—even though he has more equipment and bigger electricity needs.
“We’re done with our green march,” he says.
Rooftop Solar Synopsis
California created a boom by offering homeowners a chance to sell energy back to the grid at unsustainable rates.
This year utility companies then slashed what they pay to customers by 75 percent or more.
The payback time for these systems no longer makes any sense. More accurately, if you have to subsidize something, it is not economically feasible in the first place; it just looks like it.
The boom then imploded.
Electricity Rates
Chart courtesy of EnergyBot.
It’s going to be interesting to see what California does at night and what electricity costs when the state achieves its 60 percent solar power goal.
It’s possible that electricity prices rise so much that residents will be forced to put in their own systems and buy an expensive battery storage system on top of it to escape the PG&E power costs.
How the Inflation Reduction Act Failed to Reduced Electricity Costs in Pictures
Let’s check in on the not exactly impressive energy and inflation results of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
In case you missed it, please consider How the Inflation Reduction Act Failed to Reduced Electricity Costs in Pictures
Biden’s energy policy has been an inflationary disaster. And make no mistake, the IRA was nothing but energy policy, more precisely, climate policy.
Biden Promotes Climate Change at the Expense of More Global Poverty
Internationally, please note Biden Promotes Climate Change at the Expense of More Global Poverty
The mad rush to deal with climate change, even if it works (it won’t), has a nasty tradeoff (more global poverty).
And returning to la-la land, please note California Restaurants Cut Jobs as Fast-Food Wages Set to Rise
California traveled to Louisville, Ky., in search of a statement win against the No. 14 Louisville Cardinals (7-2, 4-2 ACC), and the Golden Bears (6-4, 3-3 ACC) pulled out all the stops Saturday evening to earn the upset, 29-26, in overtime.
On the first play of the game, California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a lateral to his slot receiver, Jacob de Jesus, who then connected with Trond Grizzell on a deep 27-yard pass. While the Golden Bears would not score on the drive, their fast and aggressive play early on silenced much of the 51,381 in attendance.
California out-gained Louisville in total yards and offensive plays throughout the entire game. The Golden Bears never once trailed the nationally ranked Cardinals by more than one score, despite entering the game as three-score underdogs, according to many sportsbooks’ odds.
Sagapolutele earned the game-winning touchdown in overtime with a nail-biting throw on fourth down. California’s first-year signal-caller found his favorite target of the evening, de Jesus, who brought in the three-yard reception to close out the game.
De Jesus had a game-high 157 receiving yards and hauled in 16 of 23 passes in which he was targeted. His 16 receptions tie Geoff McArthur’s school record for receptions by a receiver in a single game.
In his post-game press conference, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm praised de Jesus, calling him California’s “best player.”
“… Even at the end, to allow their best player to be one-on-one for an easy throw in the corner… you know, we need to coach better; we need to play better,” Coach Brohm said.
Sagapolutele completed 30 out of 47 passes attempted and racked up 323 passing yards—both career highs. In addition to the game-decider, the quarterback threw his first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, a 20-yard bomb to tight end Landon Morris.
The last time California beat a nationally ranked, top-25 team was on Dec. 5, 2020, when the Golden Bears upset the No. 20 Oregon Ducks, 21-17, for their first win in the 2020 college football season.
With the win, California is now eligible for a post-season bowl bid.
CALIFORNIA (AZFamily) — The mother of a missing California girl has been arrested on charges unrelated to her daughter’s disappearance, but the child still has yet to be found.
FBI Los Angeles announced that 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard was taken into custody on Friday. However, the whereabouts of her daughter, 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, remain unknown.
Melodee and Ashlee reportedly went on a road trip as far as Nebraska in a rental white Chevrolet Malibu last month, detectives say. Federal authorities say Melodee and her mother may have passed through Interstate 15 in Littlefield, Arizona while on the drive.
Detectives say Ashlee was arrested for a recent incident where she allegedly prevented a victim from leaving against their will. Authorities say this crime is not connected to the ongoing search for Melodee.
“Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance. Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and confirming her safety,” FBI Los Angeles said in a statement.
Ashlee was booked for a felony charge of false imprisonment. She is being held at a jail in Santa Maria, California, with bail set at $100,000.
Melodee was photographed at a rental car agency on Oct. 7, wearing a wig and a hoodie.
The young girl has brown eyes and brown, curly hair that may be straightened or covered with a dark wig. She is between four and four-and-a-half feet tall, weighing between 60 and 100 pounds.
Anyone with information about Melodee is asked to contact detectives at (805) 681-4150 or submit an anonymous tip at (805) 681-4171.
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California
Home Ronald and Nancy Reagan commissioned as California Governor’s Mansion hits the market
A Carmichael home that was originally designed to be California’s official Governor’s Mansion is now up for sale.
The mid-century modern home, located at 2300 California Avenue, was built in 1975 after being commissioned by Ronald and Nancy Reagan to replace the aging governor’s mansion at 16th and H streets in Sacramento.
By the time construction was finished, Reagan had already left office. His successor, Jerry Brown, declined to move in – famously dismissing the Carmichael residence as the “Taj Mahal.”
No California governor ever called the mansion home, with the property being sold to a private citizen in 1983.
A time capsule installed at the property recognizes the home’s history. The capsule is scheduled to be opened on July 4, 2076.
Now, as of Oct. 16, the Carmichael home has hit the market with a list price of $7.5 million. The property spans 4.3 acres that overlook the American River, with the home featuring a total of 8 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, and 2 half bathrooms.
“You can really feel the history here,” said realtor Hattie Coleman in a statement.
The Carmichael home last sold in 2004 for $4.1 million.
The East Sacramento home Reagan lived in for much of his time as California governor was designated as a historic landmark in 2024.
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