USA, California: Solar Eclipse Causes 3,000 MW Drop in Generation

Geothermal Energy Powers California through Solar Eclipse

Geothermal energy, marked by the grey line, helps
make up for the loss in solar, the yellow line in
supplying renewable energy to the California grid.

The GRC office just experienced the great solar eclipse of 2017!

At just around 10:17 am local time we witnessed the phenomena associated with the moon passing in front of the sun.

Although we didn't experience totality in Northern California the eclipse did affect the supply of solar energy to the grid. Starting at about 9:15 am the grid suffered a drop of over 3,000 MW being generated by solar arrays. The power started returning after 10:17 as the eclipse waned.

However, geothermal energy was not affected, continuing to generate just under 1,000 MW to the grid managed by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).