Solar panels are powering through US West wildfire smoke: Study

The wildfire smoke that often wafts across the U.S. West may only be causing minimal disturbance to the output of photovoltaic solar panels, a new study has found.

Smoke-linked losses of photovoltaic resources remain modest outside of the areas immediately surrounding active blazes, where plumes are denser, according to the study, published in Nature Communications.

Meanwhile, power produced by panels nationwide has remained relatively stable — even during extreme fire seasons, the study authors observed.