Green Washing

As if there aren't enough problems with green energy, California has a separate problem and it is called Green Washing. When you have a source of green energy say like solar panels, you do not get energy when you need it and later you get more than you can use. For example the sun rises and you start to produce energy and by mid afternoon you are producing more than you need. For each megawatt of green energy you receive a green energy certificate. The certificate is uncoupled from the energy so you can sell your excess green energy and keep the certificate. You sell to an out of state producer of brown energy. Later you buy back energy from them that is brown but you have the certificates that say it is green. You sell to local energy companies as green and they charge an extra fee for green. The customers feel they are doing the right thing going green so they don't mind paying a higher price. The same thing happens with wind because sometimes wind farms produce more than you can use and other times less. It even happens to hydro because certain times of the year the water levels are high and more energy is produced and later when water levels are low there is less energy produced. This is going on but it is kept out of the public domain. As of now it is the only way California can prevent brown outs or black outs so no one wants to bring it up. Ignorance is bliss.