California Answer to Coming Solar Eclipse: Unplug Appliances
- August eclipse to gradually cut solar power output 64 percent
- State utility regulator urges conservation over fossil fuels
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California’s top utility regulator has a solution to the near-instant loss of 5.6 gigawatts of solar power production during the next solar eclipse: unplug your appliances.
On Aug. 21, shading from the eclipse will begin to cross the state at 9:02 a.m. and reduce output at solar farms by as much as 64 percent, and then reverse at 10:22 a.m. and increase production rapidly until about noon, the California Public Utilities Commission said in a statement Thursday.