I cannot vouch for the quality of this reference and it is over a year old, but here you go:philip said:SageBrush said:These utility scenarios of energy sources are in flux, and not just from renewables coming online. Currently hydro is running at about the same load throughout the day, and some 20% of CA energy is a mixture of nuclear and coal imports. My guess is that CA will not renew their contracts with the exporters as they expire, and in the near future hydro will be used for the early evening load not covered by PV.
I know that plans in my area of the SW United States are to close some coal plants in the next ~ 5 years and I'm reasonably sure the driver is anticipated drop in exports.
I don't think we import coal power anymore, we do import quite a bit of hydro from the PNW - in fact there is a HVDC line that runs from Washington all the way to LA for this. Pretty interesting circuit if you have time to read up on it- it has the ability to use ocean/ground as a return path. Our in-state nuclear is down to about 2 GWs now, for better or worse...
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/californias-hidden-coal-use/
And a correction of my earlier post: My comment that imports are a mixture of nuclear and coal was meant to be limited to imports from the SW US. You are right that Washington supplies hydro sourced electricity, but not too long ago I read an interesting comment from a Washington resident who bemoaned the fact that their local hydro power was diverted to CA, leaving the local utility to supply them with coal based.