Small-scale solar cuts midday electricity demand in New York

Small-scale solar pulled down New York’s midday metered electricity demand as total solar capacity rose 5.6 gigawatts since 2018. Rooftop and other photovoltaic systems under 1 MW are generally not metered by utilities, so their output shows up as lower demand rather than generation. The effect is strongest in March and April, when solar output is favorable and load is still relatively low.

The EIA said that in March and April 2018, hourly electricity demand in New York rose by an average of 850 MW from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. As distributed solar has expanded, that morning rise has flattened at midday and been followed by a steeper climb in late afternoon and evening. NYISO’s job is to preserve reliability and competitive markets as the state moves toward a cleaner power system.

On Oct. 17, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul and NYSERDA said 6 GW of distributed solar were installed statewide, a year ahead of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act target. NYSERDA’s statewide solar datasets combine installed capacity and annual trends from NYSERDA, the New York State Department of Public Service and NYISO. Community solar had topped 2 GW by December 2023, enough to power nearly 400,000 homes, and New York held nearly one-third of the U.S. community solar market, which stood at 6.2 GW.

NYISO’s 2025 Power Trends report says the system is becoming more geographically dispersed, weather-dependent and operationally complex, with demand more uncertain as the generation mix changes.