Wildfire smoke slashed solar power generation
Midtown Manhattan buildings are shrouded in smoke from Canadian wildfires on Wednesday, June 7th, 2023. | Image: Luiz C. Ribeiro / New York Daily News / Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Wildfire smoke curtailed solar power generation when it clouded skies across the US last week. It’s one more example of how climate change is putting more pressure on stressed-out power grids.
Billows of smoke from hundreds of blazes in Canada wafted over huge swaths of the East Coast and Midwest, where it created a record-shattering air quality disaster last week. Hazy skies also made it harder for solar panels to soak up sunlight, leading to big losses in clean energy generation.
Solar farms in New England produced about 60 percent less electricity at 1PM last Wednesday than they did at the same time the week prior, according to data from…
