Meteoric

Solar farms lose output whenever low and mid-altitude clouds block sunlight, and the page implies this lost generation is otherwise just accepted as unavoidable. Different grid regions face different magnitudes of this problem, with the site citing maximum estimated uplift potential ranging from 10% in the Northwest non-ISO region up to 30% in NYISO, based on modelled cloud types for each region. There is no indication of an existing solution being displaced, suggesting operators currently have no way to recover this lost sunlight.

Meteoric deploys drones near a solar plant that fly into low and mid-altitude clouds and alter the cloud droplets, reducing cloud reflectivity so that more sunlight reaches the solar panels below. The company states the approach uses no chemicals and requires no new infrastructure at the plant, and claims the output increase is measurable. Site-specific uplift estimates are available upon request, in addition to the general regional uplift ranges published on the site. The process is described in five steps, from drone deployment through to the resulting increase in sunlight reaching panels.