Duck Days
Explore the spectrum of duck curve patterns
What is the Duck Curve?
Understanding the shape that defines modern grid operations
What's a duck curve?
During the day, solar panels flood the grid with free energy, pushing down the amount power plants need to generate ("net load"). When the sun sets, plants must ramp up fast to cover both the lost solar and the evening demand peak. Plot that on a chart and the shape looks like a duck — belly dipping at midday, neck rising at sunset.
#1Aug 4
Extreme duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:27.4 GW
Valley Depth:12.7 GW
Trough Hour:10:00 AM
#2Sep 30
Extreme duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:20.1 GW
Valley Depth:7.8 GW
Trough Hour:10:00 AM
#3Jul 4
Moderate duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:20.4 GW
Valley Depth:6.6 GW
Trough Hour:12:00 PM
#4Aug 23
Moderate duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:24.8 GW
Valley Depth:5.6 GW
Trough Hour:12:00 PM
#5Sep 8
Wildcard duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:20.6 GW
Valley Depth:3.9 GW
Trough Hour:1:00 PM
#6Jul 16
Wildcard duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:17.9 GW
Valley Depth:3.3 GW
Trough Hour:11:00 AM
#7Jul 13
Mild duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:13.4 GW
Valley Depth:2.7 GW
Trough Hour:11:00 AM
#8Aug 27
Mild duck curve
0h
24h
Evening Ramp:11.0 GW
Valley Depth:2.1 GW
Trough Hour:12:00 PM
Analyzed 119 days with data out of 120 days searched
