If you aren’t heading up to Buffalo or Burlington to catch the much-anticipated total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th, you may be wondering what to expect a bit closer to home. If that means that you’ll be staying somewhere within the confines of the five boroughs of New York City, here’s what I can tell you.
New York City residents should still expect to notice what’s going on, assuming the weather cooperates, as Gothamites will be witness to a partial solar eclipse on the order of 89% of totality. The eclipse will begin at 2:11pm, and within about 40 minutes, 50% of the sun will be covered by the moon. We’ll hit maximum coverage by 3:25, and by 4:36 the show will be over. Of course, the show could be over a lot sooner if clouds interfere.
But you may be curious, as I was, to get a better sense of what that will mean for those of you who are among the owners of the 516MW or so of solar energy that is currently installed in NYC. So, let’s assume that the weather will be clear; how much of a difference will the unusual position of the moon make on the electricity that New York’s PV panels will pump out that day?
Here’s a graph of what a nice sunny day in Spring looks like from the perspective of electricity production over time, and next to it what we might expect during the day of the eclipse.
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If you’re thinking that the eclipse will reduce the day’s electric production by about 18.5%, I’d say you are pretty darn close, especially if it turns out that April 8th is a sunny day here in NYC. If you multiply that by the 516MW of installed solar energy systems in the 5 boroughs it’s probably fair to say that the path of the moon is going to cost the ConEd grid approximately 542,000 kWh on April 8th. If you’re wondering what that translates to in dollars, you are in the neighborhood of about $100,000! Luckily the next total solar eclipse in the United States won’t occur until August 23, 2044, so there’s still time to contact Accord Power and get your solar and energy storage system installed so you won’t waste any of that precious solar energy.
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Over the last five years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Accord Power on more than a dozen innovative solar and storage projects in New York City, primarily on multifamily affordable housing. Their team is organized, communicative, and solution-oriented. Whether it’s a straightforward ballasted installation or a rooftop canopy with an energy storage system, they always go the extra mile and get the job done right.
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Accord Power was highly professional throughout the process. They helped me understand every aspect of my system and guided me to the best solution. I would recommend going solar with them because of their honesty and expertise!
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