It's the duck curve, and it could influence how your utility treats your rooftop solar panels. Things were fairly simple for utilities when there were only a few sources of energy production, namely ...

Flattening the “duck curve” to get more renewable energy on the grid. ... There are some big, older power plants (coal, nuclear, and natural gas) that are extremely inflexible.

Why the “duck curve” created by solar power is a problem for utilities. by David Roberts. Feb 10, 2016, 7:20 PM UTC ... There are lots and lots of ways to flatten the duck.

Solar power peaks around noon, due to abundant sunlight, leading to a massive drop in demand for grid electricity. This dip in the demand curve forms the “belly” of the duck.

Wind power also can be wasted if the weather is especially breezy, and California’s combined curtailment of wind and solar set a new record this April. Now the state has punted this dilemma to ...