California has a huge solar power (curtailment) problem. A fix is coming.

3 comments

1. It can be okay to waste solar and even wind energy.

   The incremental cost of delivering a unit of energy from installed solar is zero (and wind is just a tiny amount of wear on bearings, etc.) Given that low cost, it’s okay to waste energy if the revenues vs costs of an incremental new solar installation is above zero. You only stop building when that equation flips.

   That said, finding ways to price and deliver excess resources in order to stimulate demand for them is usually a great idea.

2. The article is worth a read, it is complex and nuanced. The title and the pull quote for reddit over-emphasize curtailment a bit, IMO. [Batteries are mitigating curtailment greatly in California; gridstatus.io examines the pattern in detail.](https://blog.gridstatus.io/caiso-solar-storage-spring-2025/) Battery capacity has grown over 1000% in five years, which is amazing by any standard. The gridstatus link is data- heavy and it takes a bit of time to wrap one’s head around, but basically, curtailment is down slightly even though there is significantly more solar; it is displacing quite a bit of natural gas. The “duck curve” of natural gas consumption ramping up every evening at 6PM is largely dead.

3. Batteries make everything so much easier. Large installs don’t need heavy grid connections with battery. If you’re on a 250MW branch but generate 750 you can just park it in batteries and deliver on the existing infrastructure over a longer period of time. No requirement for upgrade.

   This is all still settling in. Ten years from now this is going to look like our toddler phase.

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