- Market data showed spot prices briefly doubled during Wednesday's partial solar eclipse, reaching about 461.17 euros per MWh for a 15-minute period.
- The spike highlights Germany's growing reliance on solar and the volatility of day-ahead, 15-minute wholesale auctions when weather changes supply.
- Heatwaves and nuclear outages across Europe, plus Spain's total eclipse impact, are tightening supply and raising price risks during peak periods.
Electricity prices in Germany are set to briefly surge thanks to a solar eclipse, market data showed Tuesday, highlighting the country’s growing dependence on the power of the sun.
Spot electricity for Wednesday evening — when a partial solar eclipse will largely block out the sun — was selling for some 15-minute periods at over 400 euros ($461.61) per megawatt-hour (MWh), more than double Tuesday’s price at the same time, according to European Power Exchange data.
Prices for the period between 7:45 pm and 8:00 pm (1745 and 1800 GMT) on Wednesday — around the peak of the eclipse — were selling for as much as 461.17 euros.
Wholesale prices on the exchange are set a day in advance for each 15-minute period through auctions between power producers and large consumers.
Such sharp fluctuations are common in a German market increasingly shaped by renewable energy, the supply of which can be intermittent and depend on the weather.
Electricity is a hot topic in Europe’s largest economy, where the build-out of renewables and abandonment of nuclear power have contributed to Germans paying some of the highest power prices in the world.
Though most consumers and businesses buy electricity at fixed prices set in advance, some firms buy at spot prices to try and profit from times of high power supply.
On Tuesday, the wholesale price was close to zero euros per MWh between noon and 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) as the sun shone through clear skies.
Spain, where the eclipse will be total, is expected to see the biggest drop in solar generation.
The episode comes as intense summer heat is crimping European power supply.
France has seen nuclear power production disrupted by multiple heatwaves and droughts this year, with EDF shutting down several reactors in June and July because of extreme heat.
Romania and Hungary have also cut power generation at nuclear plants that use water from the Danube to cool their reactors as water levels fall.
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