美國西岸自太平洋時間8月21日上午9:00開始發生日全蝕,太陽能發電容量隨之降低,加州獨立系統運作中心(California Independent System Operator,CAISO)數十位電網工程師在控制室內嚴陣以待。 美西民眾紛紛觀看2017年8月21日的日全蝕。圖片來源:Arthur T. LaBar(CC BY-NC 2.0)
In California, hydroelectric and natural-gas-fired power plants, along with power drawn from seven other Western states as part of preexisting agreements, stepped in to make up for the loss of between 3,000 to 3,500 megawatts in utility-scale solar power, according to initial estimates from CAISO. For a cloudless August day, the grid operator estimated a loss of about 6,000 megawatts from both solar panels owned by homeowners and utility-scale solar facilities.