Solar panels on the roofs and yards of homes and businesses cut New England’s total electricity demand by a full 5% last year, according to the folks who run the six-state power grid.
“Photovoltaic systems that are considered ‘behind all meters’ last year reduced demand on New England’s bulk electric system by an estimated 5,266 gigawatt-hours — enough electric energy to power about 600,000 homes for a year,” ISO-New England wrote in a press release.
In other words, without rooftop solar, New England power plants would have had to generate much more electricity, much of which comes from buying and burning natural gas.
Behind-the-meter solar is consumed locally rather than sent into the region’s power grid. At peak output, these millions of panels produce at least five times as much power as Seabrook Station nuclear power plant — and that isn’t including large solar plants that feed directly into the grid.
The ISO began tracking behind-all-meters solar production in 2014. Results from 2024 show that the output has increased by a factor of 10 over the last decade. It is expected to double again by 2034.
– DAVID BROOKS