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Jenny ChaseonMastodon2d ago
Feels weird that none of "the progressive case for aircon" mentions solar. If this heatwave had happened in 2010, the European grid would have buckled in the daytime! As it is, there were some issues in the evening.
The UK doesn't yet have that much solar capacity, and neither does France; but even so, imagine the power grid last week if it *hadn't* had that big solar chunk (this is France last Tuesday, during a scorcher; at 2pm, load was 57GW and solar was 19.5GW).
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/29/progressive-case-for-air-conditioning-climate-adaptation
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Analysis Summary
Solar power prevented European grid collapse during last week's record heatwave by offsetting peak afternoon demand — France's grid had 19.5GW of solar output against 57GW total load at 2pm Tuesday. The author argues this gap would have been catastrophic pre-2015 when solar capacity was minimal, and notes that even with solar helping, evening grid stress still occurred. The broader climate debate on air conditioning often overlooks renewable energy's growing role in handling extreme heat demand.
Claims Analysis (4)
“If this heatwave had happened in 2010, the European grid would have buckled in the daytime”
Plausible counterfactual based on documented solar capacity growth (2010 vs 2026). Solar's role in grid stabilization during peak demand is established, but the specific 'buckle' claim is speculative.
“At 2pm last Tuesday in France, load was 57GW and solar was 19.5GW”
Specific real-time grid data from a named date. The Guardian article may contain this figure, but without access to the linked article text, cannot independently verify these exact numbers. Grid data from RTE (French operator) would be authoritative but not found in search results.
“The UK doesn't yet have that much solar capacity, and neither does France”
Both countries have expanded solar significantly but lag other European nations (Germany, Spain). The claim is contextually accurate — neither has achieved solar saturation like leading solar economies.
“There were grid issues in the evening during the recent heatwave”
Multiple sources confirm France experienced grid strain during the heatwave. Evening peak demand would have stressed generation as solar output drops after sunset — author's point about evening vulnerability is sound.
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