The Duck Curve Explained: Balancing Solar Production and Evening Demand
As more homeowners have decided to invest in solar energy solutions for their homes, a growing concern has arisen surrounding the Duck Curve. This phenomenon started to appear around 2010 and has continued to worsen as the years have progressed.
While solar energy is ultimately a clean and environmentally friendly energy source, the Duck Curve raises concerns, and awareness is needed to mitigate its impacts in the coming years.
Here is a breakdown of the occurrence, along with some important steps you can take to contribute to the solution.
What Is the Duck Curve?
First and foremost, we’ll break down the causation and implications of the Duck Curve.
As more and more homes and businesses have made the switch to solar power, an imbalance has been created. Solar energy is produced in high quantities during the daytime hours when the sun is at its peak, but energy consumption is typically lower during this time period.
Energy consumption, on the other hand, during the evening and early morning hours is typically much higher, but solar energy production is not. To put it simply, this current usage creates a significant gap, where we have excessive energy when it is not needed and insufficient energy when it is needed.
When this energy usage is laid out on a graph, it creates a steep incline during the evening hours and a dip during the daytime hours. The curve created on this graph resembles a duck, which is where this phenomenon got its name.
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The Mismatch Between Peak Solar and Peak Usage Hours
As we touched on above, the mismatch between solar energy production and solar energy consumption has created a massive imbalance. These impacts are widely felt, especially in large cities and metropolitan areas, as the traditional power grid takes a big hit and is required to go into overdrive to meet energy demands.
Factors Contributing to this Growing Concern
The Duck Curve is a relatively new phenomenon, but it will remain a concern unless action is taken to mitigate the supply and demand gap created by solar energy production.
Rapid Solar Energy Growth
Solar energy installations are happening at a more frequent rate than ever before. Financial incentives and tax breaks are offered for many people who choose to make the switch to solar, which has only encouraged this problem to grow.
The more solar panels installed, the larger the mismatch will become in this imbalance of energy supply and demand.
An Aging Grid System
The vast majority of grid systems throughout the country were developed well before solar energy solutions were readily available. These older systems, while reliable, were not designed to handle the sharp swings in demand.
With limited solar energy available during the evening and early morning hours, people must rely heavily on the grid system for their energy needs, creating a notable strain that needs to be addressed to prevent a larger collapse of our energy system.
Climate Concerns
As our seasons and weather conditions continue to reach new extremes due to growing climate concerns, electricity demand continues to go up. To stay comfortable through the coldest and hottest months of the year, people rely heavily on electricity to supply power to their appliances, which has only contributed to Duck Curve concerns.
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What Is the Solution?
The good news? There are strategies that could lessen or even eliminate the concerns surrounding the Duck Curve altogether. It will take a joint effort across the board, but here are the leading solutions that would directly resolve the issue.
Invest in Backup Power Storage Solutions
Backup power storage solutions are the simplest way to lessen the impacts of the Duck Curve. If you have solar panels installed at your home or place of business, investing in a device like the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 should be the first step you take to contribute to the solution.
Devices like these can help store surplus solar energy for use during off-peak production hours. Keeping a bank of ready-to-use solar energy means that you will not be contributing to the rising strain on the grid, but will instead be dipping into your reserves of energy that were collected during peak solar hours.
This is the simplest and most effective way to reduce the imbalance, and it is strongly encouraged.
Flexible Grid Systems
Another solution is to adjust the current grid system to be more flexible. Flexible grid systems can adapt more quickly to surges and falls in energy demand, which would help reduce the dramatic strain felt with the current design.
This adjustment to the grid is a long-term solution that will help support the shift to clean and renewable energy, making it our primary source of energy.
Dynamic Rates and Price Plans
This solution, while effective, is more of a band-aid and would not necessarily eliminate the Duck Curve. Some cities already implement what is called a dynamic electricity rate. These rates essentially change based on demand throughout the day, encouraging people to use energy when it is cheapest, which is typically during off-peak hours.
These pricing plans help reduce big spikes in energy use, which can smooth out the Duck Curve. That being said, they only make a significant impact if a large number of people participate.
Energy Storage Reduces Duck Curve Imbalance
While the Duck Curve is certainly cause for concern, you can play a role in being part of the solution. By focusing on energy-saving practices and reducing your impact on the grid system, you can contribute to lessening the impact of this phenomenon.
Take the first step today by investing in the EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra X, a backup power solution designed for energy storage. It’ll help you store excess energy during low-demand periods and release it when demand peaks, which can contribute to smoothing out the Duck Curve and supporting a more resilient grid.