Canada’s Wildfire Smoke Caused Huge Drop In US Solar Power Production

Massive wildfires across Canada, which have been burning since the beginning of June, have caused smoke to drift south into the United States. Now, several power grid operators have revealed that solar power production dropped by more than 50% due to the thick smoke.

Numerous videos of the smoke blanketing the sky across the northern U.S. have been shared on social media, with one viral video showing the sky in New York City appearing orange:

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, Canada currently has 416 active fires — 215 of which are considered “out of control.”

The thick smoke blanketing the Northeast U.S. in a dense orange haze has prompted air quality warnings, with many Americans reporting difficulty breathing.

According to the grid operator in New England, the smoke has caused solar farms powering the area to generate 56% less power during periods of maximum demand than they did the prior week.

In a statement on Thursday, energy grid operator ISO New England declared: “In recent days, smoke from wildfires in Canada has traveled to New England, significantly lowering production from solar resources in the region compared to what ISO New England would expect absent the smoke.”

“The smoke has also lowered actual temperatures in New England compared to what weather models are forecasting,” the statement continued. “This leads to lower demand on the regional grid, as there is less need for things like air conditioning.”

“These two factors — decreased production from solar resources and decreased consumer demand due to lower temperatures — has made forecasting demand for grid electricity challenging,” the statement concluded.

Speaking with Bloomberg News, ISO New England spokesperson Matt Kakley called the situation “really unprecedented.”

“We don’t have a lot of historical data to look back on,” he added. “There is some learning in real time.”

As solar power only accounts for roughly 3% of New England’s electricity, the reduced production did not cause any power outages. The area mainly relies on other forms of power, including 52% from natural gas and 26% from nuclear.

Other areas of the U.S. also experienced similar problems with solar production because of the smoke from Canada’s wildfires.

According to PJM Interconnection LLC, which provides electricity for 13 states from Illinois to North Carolina, there was an approximate 25% plunge in solar energy production from the previous week.

PJM Interconnection spokesperson Dan Lockwood has stated that “Smoky conditions throughout the RTO this week have caused a reduction in visibility, reducing solar, and keeping temperatures several degrees lower than usual.”

Meanwhile, New York energy grid manager New York ISO released a statement about the issue on Twitter.

“Based on data compiled by New York ISO forecasters, smoke from Canada wildfires that’s blocking sunlight resulted in a combined reduction in peak solar energy production of 1,466 MW for June 6-7, for a two-day total peak production of 4,405 MW,” the tweet read.