Solar Energy and the April 2024 Eclipse
On April 8, 2024, approximately 31 million lucky Americans will experience a total solar eclipse from their own homes, offices, or schools. An estimated additional one to four million people will join them by traveling to places in the path of totality, where the sun will be completely obscured by the moon other than the surrounding corona, which is the sun’s outermost layer of plasma that is typically hidden by the bright light emanating from the main part of the sun. The rest of the United States will still enjoy a partial solar eclipse that day. While many Americans are finalizing their plans for watching the eclipse, city and government officials are hard at work coordinating plans for managing the anticipated increase in traffic that comes with the influx of visitors. Impacts to our transportation infrastructure will be obvious and directly observable, but there are other unsung heroes working behind the scenes to ensure our energy and communications infrastructure continue to operate smoothly and without interruption during this event.
Given that solar energy production has increased measurably in the United States since the last total solar eclipse in August 2017, it raises the question of whether or not our current solar power infrastructure and subsequent output will be affected more significantly than in 2017.
Representatives from Independent System Operator (ISO) New England, California ISO, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) Interconnection discussed their predictions on how solar energy production might be affected during the eclipse and outlined steps they are taking to prepare for the forecasted dip in solar power generation during the nearly four hours the eclipse’s penumbra will be over the United States. These grid operators cited many reasons for why they are not expecting any interruptions to electric service during this time including using other methods of electricity generation while solar is affected, in addition to relying on solar power stored in battery backups. They compare these strategies to those deployed routinely on cloudy days. This sentiment was echoed by a representative from the Oklahoma Electric Cooperative who stated that solar energy is not a main source of electricity they provide to their customers and the reduced output from the eclipse would likely be similar to that of a cloudy day.
In short, grid operators are aware of how the eclipse could potentially impact solar energy production and have plans to closely monitor and quickly mitigate any effects as they would for any other anticipated decrease in output. While many people will be outdoors during that time and not necessarily needing immediate access to electricity, grid operators have the responsibility of maintaining reliable distribution of electricity needed for anything ranging from keeping our refrigerators running so our food doesn’t spoil to ensuring elderly and vulnerable populations can continue to use electronic medical devices along with heating and air conditioning in their homes. If you should need to check in with anyone during the eclipse, major cell phone carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile are not anticipating any impact on communications during this event. Although it sounds like everyone will be able to use their phones and charge them too, I would recommend snapping a few photos to remember the moment, but to keep phones mostly put away to fully experience and appreciate this special opportunity. The next total solar eclipse visible from the United States won’t occur until 2044 and the path of totality only spans parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, making it a much less accessible opportunity for most Americans.
Sources
https://www.entergynewsroom.com/article/wonder-over-worry-electricity-2024-solar-eclipse/
https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/visitation
https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/
https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/articles/solar-eclipse-solar-energy-what-expect-when-sun-goes-dark
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/cloudy-days-and-solar-arrays
https://eerscmap.usgs.gov/uspvdb/viewer/#3/37.25/-96.25
https://nationaleclipse.com/maps/map_08232044.html