The new solar capacity, in both CAISO and the Desert Southwest, has been a big story this year as it has put increased pressure on the midday hours. We saw this as far back as January, but with each new month daylight hours expand further, and with them the impact of solar generation grows and grows. In fact, April 4^th set a record, superseding another record set in March and the previous record from last summer. However, the increase in solar capacity is not all rosy, as curtailments have grown as fast or faster than generation.

Figure 1 | Solar Generation 12x24 Profile