Duck Curve

The duck curve describes the shape of net demand (demand minus solar and wind output) across a day on a grid with a lot of solar power: it dips around midday as solar output peaks, then rises sharply in the evening as the sun sets and people get home. Drawn out, it resembles a duck's back and neck; the steep evening rise is the operational challenge, because other generation has to increase output quickly to cover both the loss of solar and the evening peak in demand.

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APA 7

World Power Monitor. (2026). Duck Curve: What It Means. https://worldpowermonitor.com/glossary/duck-curve/

Plain text

World Power Monitor. Duck Curve: What It Means. Data as of 2026-09-21. https://worldpowermonitor.com/glossary/duck-curve/

BibTeX

@misc{wpm_glossary_duck_curve_2026,
  title = {{Duck Curve: What It Means}},
  author = {{World Power Monitor}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Data as of 2026-09-21.},
  url = {https://worldpowermonitor.com/glossary/duck-curve/}
}

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Duck Curve

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