European wind output hits 20-week low; solar rebounds amid early spring spell

European weekly wind power output fell almost 50% week-over-week in the seven days to March 9, while solar output rose about 20% to the highest since September amid an early spell of spring weather across large parts of the Continent, system data analyzed by Platts showed March 9.

Wind generated about 8.1 TWh, the lowest weekly output since mid-October, according to preliminary daily data by WindEurope based on Entso-e data as well as BMRS data for Great Britain.

Solar output across the EU27, meanwhile, reached 6 TWh with peaks near 125 GW around midday, according to Entso-e data aggregated by Fraunhofer ISE.

Wind is set to rebound with spotrenewables.com forecasting Germany's weekly wind average to double to over 17 GW. Daily output is set to rise from under 4 GW on March 10 to about 36 GW on March 13.

Elsewhere, UK wind is also forecast to rebound to average about 14 GW this week, according to a March 8 forecast by spotrenewables.com.

Spanish wind is forecast to remain subdued after a record start to 2026, forecast to average below 4 GW this week.

The swing in weather across Iberia helped lift spot prices alongside higher gas prices after a series of storms deflated Spanish spot power prices in February.

The capture rate for Spanish solar plunged to 29% in February with daily capture prices ranging from minus Eur2.81/MWh to Eur17.22/MWh, according to Platts assessments for S&P Global Energy.

That was despite a 24% year over year drop for Spanish solar generation in February.

Spanish wind captured 90% of February's average spot prices with daily prices ranging from Eur2.90/MWh to Eur41.76/MWh, Platts data show.

Spot prices rebounded sharply in early March amid a lull in wind.

Elsewhere, German and British wind capture prices firmed amid the drop in wind and a sharp rise in gas-fired generation costs.

Platts assessed UK offshore wind at GBP125.42/MWh on March 4, the second-highest so far this year.

German onshore wind's capture price was pegged at Eur163.39/MWh on March 4, the highest since last November, according to Platts assessments.

Overall, Europe's rising wind and solar capacity is expected to reduce demand for gas this spring amid a shift from gas to coal and lignite within the so-called thermal gap, according to analysts at S&P Global Energy CERA.