Energy Resources in California

California has focused on developing a diversity of energy sources, and on increasing energy efficiency.  A few sources of energy predominate, however.   As of 1994, petroleum provided over half (51%) of the primary energy used in California.  (Primary energy is energy that is used directly, for instance, as fuel in cars).  Natural gas was second, with about 1/3 (34% in 1994), followed by a mix of other sources, including nuclear (6%), hydroelectric (5%), geothermal (3%), and coal (1%).  California produces about 45% of the energy used here, including about half the petroleum used, and 17% of the natural gas.  The rest is imported from other states (45%) and foreign countries (10%).  In terms of energy use, about half the energy (49% in 1994) goes to transportation (driven any freeways lately?), about a quarter (27%) for industrial use, and the rest for commercial and residential uses. (Figures from the California Energy Commission's Energy Watch, April, 1997).   The sections below will provide more information on energy topics in California.

General Information     Fossil Fuels    Electricity   Renewable Energy    Alternative Fuels          Nuclear Energy

General Information on Energy and Energy Conservation

• California's Energy Resources is an introduction to energy in California from the state Resources Agency.

• For summaries of a variety of energy-related topics, go to NRDC's Energy page.

• The California Energy Commission has a tremendous amount of information on energy in California.  Here is a list of some of the energy topics covered.   They also have a practical  consumer energy center.  

• Energy Watch is a 45-page report that summarizes energy trends in California.  It includes statistics on energy production and consumption in the state, and can be downloaded as an Adobe PDF file.

• A graph of  Total Energy Use in California.

• California Energy Commission Databases  has links to online databases covering a variety of topics ranging from power plants in California to energy-efficient  appliances.

• California's Energy Emergency Contingency Plan, from the California Energy Commission, has gasoline price reports and information on the state's plans to deal with energy shortages

• 100 Ways to Save Energy (in your home), from San Diego Gas and Electric. 

• A list of a whole lot of energy sites on the Internet from the California Energy Commission.

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Fossil Fuels  Fossil fuels are composed of hydrocarbons that are the result of the partial decomposition of organic material.   They were formed from the remains of  plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.  When the organisms died, they were trapped and buried in sediments with insufficient oxygen present, and did not decompose completely.  Over vast periods of time, increasing pressure, heat, and biochemical activity transformed the organic matter into petroleum, natural gas, or coal.   The type of fossil fuel formed depends on the original type of organism, as well as the conditions during formation.  Petroleum and natural gas were derived mostly from marine microorganisms, while coal was derived from land plants; in fact soft coal may still contain identifiable pieces of fossil wood and other plant parts. 
Fossil fuels have been very valuable sources of energy.  They fueled the Industrial Revolution and made much of our modern technology and material standard of living possible.  California's large oil resources have been an important source of energy for the state; see this page on California Crude Oil Production.   But fossil fuels exist in finite supply.  Eventually they will run out.  Coal and oil formation are continuing in the Earth even now, but it is a very slow process, taking millions of years, not at all comparable with the speed at which we are burning the existing supplies.  The fossil fuel that will probably last the longest is coal.  We have a huge supply of coal in the United States (not much in California, though).   However, coal burning produces a great deal of  pollution, even more than burning oil does, so it is not an ideal solution to our energy supply problem.  All fossil fuels produce air pollution to some extent, even natural gas, which is the cleanest. 

• California Historical Energy Statistics  gives a great deal of statistical information on petroleum, natural gas, and electricity in the state.

• Interesting Facts about Oil and Gas from the Department of Conservation.

• 1997 Oil and Gas Statistics for California.

• How Fossil Fuels Formed covers coal, oil, and natural gas. From the US Department of Energy.

• Picture an Oil Well is a diagram of an oil well, with an explanation of  how it is drilled.

• Try Looking Down an Oil Well to see what an oil reservoir looks like, how oil is found, and how it is extracted from the ground.

• Natural Gas: Fueling the Blue Flame will show you natural gas wells, give you the history of our use of natural gas, and discuss where it is found now, and where it may be extracted in the future.

• Some information on coal and coal mining is found in COAL: Ancient Gift Serving Modern Man.  Includes a brief description of  How Coal is Formed.   From the American Coal Foundation.

• The US Department of Energy's Fossil Energy  site is a starting point for a lot of information.

• Oil, gas and geothermal resources information from the Department of Conservation.

• Sources of information on oil, petroleum, and gasoline are referenced here.

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Electricity Electricity is considered secondary energy, since a primary energy source must be used to generate it.   That is, we must use coal,  natural gas, uranium, or some other primary fuel, to generate electricity.  The disadvantage to this is that the efficiency of transfer is not very good, and varying amounts of energy are always lost in the process.  Also, pollution of some sort is usually a byproduct of electricity generation.  The advantage, though, is that electricity is very versatile, and can be used in many applications that would be inappropriate for a primary source of energy.   (Ever hear of a coal-fired computer?) 
In California in 1997, electricity was generated from a variety of primary fuels:   Natural Gas provided 34.8% of the electricity, large hydroelectric plants generated 21.4%, coal burning produced 19.5%, nuclear 13.9%.  Renewable sources (biomass, geothermal, small hydroelectric plants, solar, and wind) produced a total of 10.2 % of the state's electricity.  (From California System Power, 1997, California Energy Commission).  There is information about electricity in most of the other sections on this page, but the sources listed below focus primarily on electricity.

• Electricity in California, from the California Energy Commission, is a good place to start.   There is a vast amount of information that can be accessed through this page.

• Electricity Fuel Source, 1995 is an interesting page from the DOE, with graphs comparing sources of electrical energy in California with sources in the US as a whole.

• Here is a map of Power Plants in California, by category (ie, coal, hydroelectric, nuclear, etc.).

• A cool Virtual Power Plant Tour, from San Diego Gas and Electric. (If you have all the plug-ins required).

• Hydropower Program, from the Bureau of Reclamation, is the home page on hydroelectric power from one of the major producers.  Hydropower Information covers the history of hydropower,  major hydropower producers, and a great deal more.   Here is a clickable map of hydropower facilities in the west.  Click on the one you are interested in to find out more.

• Some information on Parker Dam and Power Plant, from the Bureau of Reclamation.

• Take a Virtual Tour of Hoover Dam and its power plant.

• Here is the home page of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which includes a brief on-line plant tour.   More on nuclear energy below.

• Renewable energy programs for consumers has information about Green power programs.

• Here is some information on Geothermal energy topics.

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Renewable Energy   Renewable energy sources are those which will not run out, or are quickly renewed through natural processes.  Coal is not considered renewable, since there is a finite supply of it, and it is not being formed quickly enough by natural processes to keep up with demand.   Energy from the sun is renewable, because it continually reaches the Earth from the sun, and will not run out in the foreseeable future.  In California,  renewable energy resources are defined by law as:
biomass and waste (that is, burning of municipal solid waste, old tires, and methane generated in landfills and wastewater plants)--contributed about 2.3% of the state's electricity in 1997
geothermal (energy from the Earth's internal heat)--4.5% in 1997
small hydroelectric (water power)--2.1% in 1997
solar energy (photovoltaics and solar thermal energy)--0.3% in 1997
wind power--1.0% in 1997
(From 1997 California System Power, California Energy Commission).

• State Energy Alternatives is a very useful page on renewable energy in California, from the US Department of Energy.   Solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy resources in the state are covered, and the potential for each in California is discussed, with maps of such topics as the amount of incoming solar radiation in different regions of the state. While the page concentrates on renewable energy, there is a lot on conventional energy sources as well. 

• Renewable energy choice, from the California Energy Commission, has a summary of renewable energy resources.

• There is general information on renewable energy at the EPA's Green Power website.

• What is Geothermal all About? from the Department of Conservation.

• Geothermal Energy in California has a brief summary on the topic, and a few links. 

• The Plus Side of Volcanoes--Geothermal Energy, is a page from the USGS.  There is a brief general discussion of geothermal energy, and a summary of geothermal sites in California, with several links to more information.

• A photo of the Geysers Geothermal Facilities, and brief description.

• The US Department of Energy's Geothermal Energy Technical Site  is a very good place to learn about geothermal energy.

• Information on Geothermal Energy from the EPA's Green Power website.

• Solar Energy in California, from the California Energy Commission, is a good place to start finding out about solar energy.

• A lot of general information on solar energy (not just in California), including topics such as residential use of solar energy, photovoltaics, and solar thermal electricity generation, from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

• Sunlab explains several method of converting solar energy to electricity, including parabolic trough collectors and power towers such as Solar 2 near Barstow, California.

• The Kramer Junction Company operates 5 parabolic trough solar thermal electric generating facilities in the Mojave desert, capable of generating up to 354 megawatts of power.  Their site has information on these facilities and how they work, as well as many photographs.

• This is a short article on Village Homes, a model community developed in the 1970's in Davis, California, and designed to make maximum use of solar energy.

• An Energy Guide for California Consumers is a two page document in Adobe PDF format, that concentrates on renewable energy, especially solar energy.  From the Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation.

• Links to anything you would want to know on solar energy.  Also, another page of links to solar and renewable energy information.

• A list of wind energy projects in California, from the American Wind Energy Association.  Also, see the AWEA's Wind Energy FAQ; there is a lot of information here, from the economics and environmental implications of wind energy to how to make your own home wind turbine generator.

• Wind Energy in California is the starting page for finding out about this topic, from the California Energy Commission.  See Fast Facts on Wind Energy in California for tables of statistics on wind turbines and electricity production from wind in California.

• Palm Springs Wind Energy has some interesting information on the San Gorgonio wind farm, and on wind energy in general. Wintec operates wind farms in Palm Springs and Altamont pass. Their web site is very informative, and they will give you windmill tours in Palm Springs.  Kern Wind Energy Association covers the productive wind turbines in the Tehachapi Mountains.

• Answers to Common Questions about Wind Turbines in the Tehachapi-Mojave Wind Resource Area .

• The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Wind Energy in California is a very interesting discussion of  the politics and economics of developing a renewable energy source such as wind.  From the point of view of someone in the wind energy industry, since it was written by R. Steubl, President of  NextWave Energy.

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Alternative Fuels  Eventually, we need to find other fuels for vehicles besides the current ones, which are petroleum-based.  Petroleum will not last forever, and burning of gasoline and diesel fuel contributes tremendously to air pollution.  Natural gas is much less polluting, but, like liquid petroleum, it is not a renewable source of energy.  Several promising technologies are being developed to extend the supply of petroleum, or eventually replace it.  Some type of fuel cell may be at least part of the answer.  Information on electric vehicles is included here, but the primary advantage of an electric car is that it is less polluting in operation.  However, the electricity to run it must be generated somewhere, and depending what source is used, the generation process may use a non-renewable fuel source, and may cause pollution at the point of generation.  Electrical vehicles run with electricity generated by a renewable source, such as solar or wind power, would be the best choice in terms of both air pollution and sustainable use of resources.

• NRDC's Worldview page has a section on Transportation with general information on fuel cells and alternative-fuel vehicles. Scroll to the Energy section, and choose the topic.

• Fuel Cells are efficient and clean, and may power your car in the future.  The California Fuel Cell Partnership has information on fuel cells and their future in the state. For animated explanations on how a fuel cell works, see this page from Ballard Power Systems.  Other links to information on  Hydrogen and Fuel Cells can be found here.

• A lot of information on Electric Vehicles from San Diego Gas and Electric.

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Nuclear Energy  A controversial source of energy, nuclear energy accounted for about 6% of the state's primary energy in 1994.  Some would like to see that figure increased, other would like to see the use of nuclear power eliminated completely.

• Links to information on nuclear energy, mostly from the nuclear industry and nuclear researchers.

• The Core, from the Uranium Institute (of London)  is pro-nuclear.  They have a very informative website.

• San Onofre #2 has a tremendous amount of information on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• Diablo Canyon Unit #2 is the information page on the Diablo Canyon power plant, from the US NRC.

• The Virtual Nuclear Tourist !!!  is full of information on how nuclear reactors work, how nuclear plants are operated and maintained, and nuclear plants around the world.

• Nuclear Waste Task Force of the Sierra Club addresses one of the key concerns over the use of nuclear energy.

• Here is a good general discussion on Radioactive Waste, produced as a class project at the University of Virginia.  Covers types of waste, disposal methods, and history, with a bibliography for further research.

• NRDC's Worldview   covers a few nuclear topics (scroll to the Energy section to find them).

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  Comments, Questions, or Suggestions? Email: J.R. Thorngren
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06/07/06

The grizzly bear is the state animal of  California, and is the bear on the California flag.  There are no grizzly bears in the wild in California today.   The last one in the state was killed in 1922, or possibly in 1924.