Here’s a stupid question: What do we do if we’re highly dependent upon solar energy and there is a solar eclipse?
Fact is, it’s not a stupid question.
Increased use of solar power causes utility companies to scramble when the sun goes dim.
More than half of California’s energy production is solar and the California Independent Systems Operator which coordinates the state’s power generation is concerned about the upcoming partial solar eclipse in October.
“We’ve been trying to get ahead of this,” CAISO CEO Elliot Mainzer told the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) last week, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.
“It’ll be an interesting moment,” Mainzer said.
Indeed.
On Oct. 14, an annular solar eclipse will begin in Oregon at 9:13 a.m. local time and move across the western U.S., ending in Texas an hour and 50 minutes later.
An annular solar eclipse is when the moon’s motion in front of the sun partially blocks it, compared to a total solar eclipse when the moon appears to completely darken the sun.
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There was an annular eclipse affecting California in 2017 when the state’s solar generation was between 30 and 40 percent, according to a CAISO fact sheet.
That partial eclipse required more than a year’s planning to offset a projected large-scale and rooftop solar generation power gap of 449 megawatts.
CAISO at the time said the gap would have to be filled “using resources other than solar generation.”
Which begs the question — As Those Who Know Best insist on renewable power generation sources, what will be the alternatives to the solar and wind they want us to switch to?
Nuclear? Don’t think such thoughts! Hydro? Maybe — but what about the fish if we need hydro dams? And what happens in a drought?
As it came out, in the 2017 eclipse, CAISO planned to tap into hydro and evil natural gas generation.
In their ongoing effort to save the planet (but freeze, fry and starve the people and leave them in the dark) California now has 70 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources at times of peak midday demand.
Of that 70 percent, 80 percent is solar meaning fully 56 percent of California’s midday power production comes from the sun.
Thankfully, solar eclipses — while only visible during the day — are not limited to midday, when electrical demand is at a peak.
The Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse occurs in mid-morning and CAISO this time expects a smaller gap between California production and demand.
Unlike the 449 megawatts of 2017, this eclipse is expected to produce a California power gap of 11,748 megawatts. CAISO plans to offset the gap through coordination with external power systems such as Reliability Coordinator West, WEIM and utility distribution networks.
Mainzer said the solar interruption will cause steeper up- and down-ramping conditions. Ramping conditions are rates at which an electrical grid sheds or gains power and extreme ramping can stress the system, according to CAISO.
As the eclipse moves east it will affect power grids in other states. Not all have publicly commented on what they will do, although Texas reported the state will use natural gas to close the solar generating gap.
Despite the best efforts of those favoring renewable energy, ultimately the forces of nature cannot always be reliable.
Each source of electrical generation — coal, gas, nuclear, solar, hydro, and wind — can have its place, but the dream of complete renewal energy is just that, a dream.
Sometimes the sun doesn’t shine, the wind doesn’t blow, and the water doesn’t flow.
As a result, sometimes the only solution is to just build a fire.
