L R AS Published on Saturday 3 October 2020 - n° 334 - Categories:California-Americas States
California fires affect panel production
Forest fires in California have disrupted the energy production of photovoltaic panels. It fell by 13% in the first two weeks.
of September compared to last year, and by 30% from July 2020 to July 2019 because production is higher in July than in September even though 659 MW have been installed over the last twelve months.
These forest fires are no more important than the monsoon clouds in the south of the state on a hot and humid day. However, they are becoming more frequent than before because of the drought, and are more devastating.
While photovoltaics is the energy of the future, its production is hampered by the smoke from drought-related fires!
California is the state where solar power provides the most electricity. This region wants to favour residential production. However, the ashes settle on the panels and prevent them from producing normally until the next rainfall. On the other hand, the owners of large power plants have the technical means to clean their panels and be less affected by the ash. Owners and buyers will therefore have to integrate this risk of reduced production into their production estimates and thus their results.
GreenTech Media of1 October
