Smoke From California's Wildfires Is Dimming Solar Power Output
A helicopter drops water on a burning hillside during the Ranch Fire in Clearlake Oaks, California on Aug. 5.
Photographer: Josh Edelson/AP Photo
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The smoke billowing from California’s wildfires is dimming output from solar farms.
First Solar Inc., which operates more than two gigawatts of solar farms in the state -- that’s equivalent to about two nuclear reactors -- has seen production dip at installations near fires, according to spokesman Steve Krum. The slumps in generation have been “very minimal," he said, likening them to the impact of passing clouds on solar panels.