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California Hits Solar Power Record, Twice by Mark Anderson The Business Journals, March 11, 2014

The U.S. installed 4,751 megawatts of PV, according to the Solar Market Insight Year in Review report.

The Golden State hit a new record in solar electric production over the weekend, twice.

California Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state's electrical grid, reported solar panels connected to the grid hit a new record of 4,093 megawatts on Saturday, breaking the record of 3,926 megawatts set the day before.

Clean air, sunny skies and a whole lot more solar electric capacity drove the new record.

"You could reasonably expect more records to be hit this year," said Steven Greenlee, spokesman with Cal ISO, which is a non-profit public benefit corporation based in Folsom.

New solar photovoltaic panels and other solar generating stations are adding considerable power to California's electrical grid.

On Saturday, Cal ISO had 5,231 megawatts of net dependable capacity, which is the total installed capacity of panels in the state. That's up 139 percent from 2,188 megawatts of net dependable capacity on March 8, 2013.

The actual generation figure is always a percentage of the net solar capacity, Greenlee said.

California remains the largest solar power producer in the country.

Cal ISO figures represent solar capacity connected to the grid. The state also has significant distributed solar, where the solar panels are used by a business to offset taking power from a grid, and most residential solar is off the grid.