Near-record week for European wind, solar power output

European wind and solar power generation had a near-record week in the seven days to March 29, system data analyzed by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, showed.

Wind output rose by about a third, week over week, in Week 13 (March 23-29), averaging near 90 GW, with Germany and Great Britain setting new peak records, preliminary data by WindEurope, as well as BMRS showed.

Combined wind and solar output across the EU27 reached 18.4 TWh for Week 13, the highest during spring and the third-highest overall, according to Entso-e data aggregated by Fraunhofer ISE.

Volatile supply from wind and solar, alongside demand swings and overall elevated gas prices, are shaping hourly power prices, with large fluctuations ranging from negative hours during periods of oversupply to spikes above Eur200/MWh during evening peaks, according to exchange data.

Wind is forecast to fall sharply from April 1, before a new surge is expected for the Easter weekend, April 4-5, according to data from spotrenewables.com.

German wind is projected to decline from an average of 36 GW on March 30 to 3 GW on April 1, before rebounding to about 20 GW for the Easter weekend, according to a late March 30 forecast by spotrenewables.com, down from earlier forecasts of over 50 GW on April 5.

There was a similar forecast for British wind, to fall from nearly 20 GW on March 30 to an average of about 7 GW for March 31-April 3, before surging to about 17 GW by April 4.

For Spain, the forecast was reversed, with wind set to remain low over the Easter weekend, while Spanish solar was forecast to be high throughout the Easter week, with peakload hours averaging about 15 GW, according to spotrenewables.com.

Europe's rising wind and solar capacity, with now about 700 GW installed across the continent, is expected to reduce demand for gas this spring and summer, according to analysts at S&P Global Energy CERA.

The impact on capture prices differs markedly across markets and technologies, with higher gas supporting outright power, but surges in wind and solar still deflating prices quickly amid widespread zero and negative hourly prices over the past week, especially during hours with both high wind and solar output.

Platts assessed the daily UK offshore wind capture price at GBP39.59/MWh on March 25, down from GBP138.51/MWh on March 20.

German onshore wind was pegged at Eur21.58/MWh on March 25, the lowest since the start of the year, according to Platts data.