An Ominous Eclipse

As the world forges on burning fossil fuels and expending non-renewable resources, considerable efforts are being made to promote clean, renewable energy harvesting. Of these, wind and solar have been two forces leading the charge. As shown below, in 2009, renewable energy sources accounted for ~8% of the United States energy production.

http://geology.com/articles/renewable-energy-trends/

Although solar energy hasn't quite reached mainstream status in the United States, Europe has taken on a much fuller adoption in recent years, accounting for 60% of the World's solar use! From the solar farms being built throughout the countryside of the UK (shown below) to photocells being installed on rooftops, solar energy has been gaining steam throughout the EU. 

http://www.aecom.com/Where+We+Are/Europe/Energy/_projectsList/Development+of+solar+farms,+UK

While this may all represent a strong step moving forward in the realm of renewable energy, the European energy grid will face a serious test in the coming month. On March 20th, the Earth will witness it's largest solar eclipse since 1999. While this may on the surface appear to be a relatively minor disruption, it actually poses some major issues. The biggest issue is the timing. While solar cells obviously don't function at night, that also corresponds the lowest energy consumption period of the day. With the solar eclipse occurring in the morning of March 20th, it will coincide with peak energy usage. Energy grid workers are estimating the eclipse to result in a loss of 35,000 MW of solar energy, which is expected to place a major strain on the grid. 

As Gizmodo illustrates the issue, the power grid acts as a river of sorts, that flows at a constant rate. However, when the solar generators stop working, the energy supply must be drawn from a different source, which puts a major strain on the rest of the grid. Additionally, this creates a ripple or wave throughout the grid where the void disrupts the system. 

This solar reliance issue brings to light a large void in technology - large scale battery storage. Currently, there is no truly effective way of storing solar energy, so it must be produced and consumed in the same process. This limitation accounts for much of the hesitation to adopt solar energy on a large scale. Until this sort of technology can be further developed, the ominous solar eclipse may continue to attack the grid and damage the system that Europe has frivolously to build. Perhaps, however, the effects will be negligible. Only time will tell, and we will surely find out come March 20th. Stay posted....

http://gizmodo.com/now-we-actually-have-a-real-reason-to-dread-solar-eclip-1687768305