Geothermal Plant in Imperial County California. Flickr: stbourne
In a two part series called “The New Green Gridlock” for KQED’s Climate Watch, Rob Schmitz looks into the development of renewable energy sources in Southern California. Part 1, which aired today, looks at the “green rush” of proprietors and investors. . Solar plants are the only idea cooking in the desert sun of Imperial County: Schmitz also checks out other sources like wind and geothermal energy.
As I mentioned last week, producing renewable energy is only the first step. The second is getting energy out of the desert, into the grid and finally to population centers. Part 2, set to air next week, looks at these challenges.