LyrArc Article Gist
California has gone to put residential solar panels big time. Consider 47 gigawatts of production of solar energy installed , can supply 13.9 million homes and cover 25% of California's energy use. From desert landscapes in the Central Valley to rooftops in southern California it has spread so fast that the power grid does not know what to do with it during the day when demand is not high and supply is plentiful, a duck curve. About 5% of it goes to waste unused, and solar energy during the midday period is now not worth much to the grid. Officials want to switch from the 0.20 or 0.40 cents incentive per kilowatt hour  California pays for solar supplies to net metering that means pay only what is of value to the grid. In the Spring months this can be a net zero value to the grid and zero payments. In summer demand picks up because of air conditioning use middday. This has raised alarm that it will lead to a 40% drop in solar installations in the next year. It shows the challenges that more states will face. Nevada with 23% solar energy power is facing this situation. So is Hawaii. The Biden administration has $7 billion in grants to support rooftop solar in other states, to power 900,000 low income households.