California has so much solar on the grid that electricity prices are negative during the day

In California, where much of the electricity comes from solar radiation, excess energy is becoming a big problem. The Washington Post reports that on sunny days, there is so much solar energy that prices are negative.

While in Europe, including the Czech Republic, negative energy prices are not such an exceptional thing, in America they encounter this phenomenon less often. The state of California is one of those where the sharp increase in photovoltaic power plants and the associated surpluses of electricity lead to negative prices.

“Negative or very low electricity prices are not insurmountable challenges, but they are challenges that many grid operators have never faced before,” Michelle Davis of the consultancy Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables told the Washington Post.

The rise of photovoltaics has been too fast

According to her, the state underestimated the speed with which solar energy will come from small operators of renewable sources. In California, more and more homes are getting solar panels, which is good for renewable energy, but it exacerbates the problem of additional power. As early as 2022, The Washington Post reported that most of California’s wasted electricity comes from solar power, which may raise its price later. But the opposite has happened, electricity prices are low to negative.

California is trying to solve the surplus problem by giving people with solar panels lower feed-in prices, which understandably doesn’t sit well with PV owners. California is also trying to sell additional energy to neighboring states, but this solution is not sustainable in the long term. The real solution seems to be the use of large capacity batteries.

Basically, even though California has a lot of sunlight, it causes problems that need to be dealt with smartly. The people who manage the electric system, the legislators, and the people who like renewable energy, they all need to work together to find a solution. By using batteries and setting good rules, California can harness the power of sunlight while avoiding problems with too much electricity. However, not everyone has the opportunity to use these batteries, and for home photovoltaics, these are additional costs. In any case, California needs to rethink its approach to electricity feed-in prices and overall support for photovoltaics.