Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have reached record high energy prices due to the current heat wave in Europe and its consequences, according to energy market information provider Montel. He states that extremely high temperatures reduce the efficiency of solar panels and CCGT power stations.
CCGT power stations operate less efficiently at high temperatures and lose between 0.5% and 0.9% of their production for every additional degree Celsius.
The Norwegian company said that, according to stock exchange data, Belgium has set a new record for the electricity price per quarter at €1,038.25 ($1,181.63)/MWh for the 15-minute time slot starting at 8:45 PM (CET).
“The Netherlands also reached a new quarter-hour record price of €902.47/MWh, while the Danish bidding zone DK1 rose to €786.83/MWh. In Germany, Europe’s largest electricity market, quarter-hour prices also reached a record level of €747.10/MWh in the same evening period,” Montel said.
Figures from the Montel EQ platform show that Germany’s residual load has increased to 51.5 GW. The part of electricity demand not covered by wind and solar energy was approximately 10.4 GW above the usual level for this time of day and year.
“As temperatures have risen, demand for air conditioning and cooling systems has increased significantly in parts of Europe. However, the sharpest price spikes occurred during the evening peak – at a time when solar power generation is declining rapidly as sunlight decreases, while temperatures and cooling demand remain high,” Montel said. “This combination led to periods of increasing scarcity and forced markets to rely on increasingly expensive generation sources to maintain the balance between supply and demand.”
According to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the current heat wave is expected to continue in large parts of central and western Europe until the first days of July.
