German down as renewables decrease
The spot price of German wholesale power increased on Wednesday, despite forecasts that wind and solar energy output would be lower. In France, the spot price fell, despite projections that wind power generation and demand will increase.
At 0840 GMT, the German day-ahead power baseload traded at 94 Euros ($109.07 per megawatt hour) – 19.7% higher than its previous close.
After a settlement of 77.3 euros, France's neighbour saw the day-ahead electricity untraded but indicated a bid-ask price range between 66.5 and 74 euros/MWh.
The German wind power output is expected to drop by more than a third from yesterday, reaching 12.9 gigawatts on Thursday. According to LSEG, this should turn the country into an importer. Meanwhile, wind production in France has increased, now standing at 7.1 GW, up from 1.6 GW.
The German solar energy generation was expected to drop by 3.3 GW, to 13.4 GW.
The French nuclear capacity dropped one percentage point, to 66%.
The high water temperature on the Garonne River in the south-west of France is expected to have an impact on electricity production in the 2.6 gigawatt Golfech Nuclear Plant from July 2. This follows advisories issued for the Bugey, Saint Alban and Saint Alban nuclear plants.
On the demand-side, German consumption is expected to drop by 900MW on Thursday, reaching 54.7GW, while France's usage should also fall by 900MW, reaching 46.8GW.
The German baseload for the year ahead fell 0.6% to 88.0 Euros/MWh, while the French equivalent, which closed at 65.7 Euros/MWh was offered at 63.5 Euros.
The German coal importers' lobby VDKi says carbon capture should not only be allowed in new gas-fired power plants, but also at existing hard coal plants in Wilhelmshaven and Duisburg.
The upgrade of these plants would be cheap and help keep prices down. It said that $1 = 0.8618 Euros (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman).
(source: Reuters)
