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Bloomberg
Germany is headed for record solar power generation next week as forecasters predicted warm weather for central and eastern Europe and even raised the prospect of heatwaves
hitting the southeast region later this month.
While Europe’s renewable energy revolution has fundamentally changed how the power market works, it’s probably most notable at this time of year. German prices slumped below zero as solar and wind output flooded the market at the same time as European factories had ramped down consumption because of a holiday.
“A prominent high is expected to anchor over northern and central Europe from the end of this week, bringing dry and settled weather to large swathes of Europe through the majority of May,†said Katie Greening, a meteorologist at the Weather Company.
Output from photovoltaic panels in Germany could reach as high as 28,318 megawatts on May 7, according to Bloomberg’s weather model. That would beat a peak from last May of 27,796 megawatts. Another sunny spell in mid to late May, not too hot but strong sunshine, could provide new solar peaks, according to Matt Do-bson, an energy meteorologist at
Meteogroup.
After the hottest April since 1981, six weather forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg all say that central and eastern Europe will be warmer than usual in May. But the west and southwestern fringes — the UK France, Spain and Portugal — are most likely to be cooler than normal, according to Meteogroup UK Ltd.