Read in-depth analysis and commentary on energy trends and market developments.
Being short when the system is short (SI+) cost 340 €/MWh in Belgium in 2022. So far in 2026 it is 115. France unwound the furthest, down 76%, and Portugal is now the cheapest market to be short in at 50 €/MWh.
France averaged 276 €/MWh in 2022, the dearest market in Europe. By 2026 the same market averages 57 €/MWh, below every northern neighbour.
From a winter near 100 €/MWh to a noon at effectively zero. A hydro anomaly, a deepening midday canyon, and a daily intraday spread in Germany that averaged 177 €/MWh in May.
The Belgian Day-Ahead market recorded 617 hours of negative pricing in 2025, spread across 8 of the 12 calendar months, a structural feature of how the grid operates today.
As European power systems absorb increasing volumes of variable renewable generation, storage is no longer evaluated solely on technical performance. The decisive question is economic viability at scale.
European electricity markets are undergoing a fundamental transformation. As solar capacity expands across the continent, the relationship between renewable generation and wholesale prices becomes increasingly complex.
As global power systems integrate increasing volumes of renewable generation, solar photovoltaic has become the central driver of renewable system expansion. The transition is increasingly solar-led and strategically asymmetric.
As silicon approaches its theoretical physics limit, the industry faces a structural transition. The decisive question is no longer "how cheap can we make a panel?" but "how much energy can we extract from a single cell?"
Since 2010, the solar industry has shifted from a high-cost subsidized sector to a primary pillar of the global power system. As module prices approached a functional floor of $0.26/Wp in 2024, momentum shifted from marginal additions to system-wide dominance.