The Economist
Summary
Owing to the rapid spread of solar power, Spanish energy is increasingly cheap. Between 11am and 7pm, the sunniest hours in a sunny country, prices often loiter near zero on wholesale markets (see chart). Even in Germany, which by no reasonable definition is a sunny country, but which has plenty of wind, wholesale prices were negative in 301 of the 8,760 tradable hours last year.
As solar panels and wind farms take over Europe, the question facing the continent’s policymakers is what to do with all the power they produce. Ultra-low—and indeed negative—prices suggest that it is not being put to good use at present, reflecting failures in both infrastructure and regulation. One of three options is The next option for policymakers is to shift demand. This does not mean persuading everyone to take showers during their lunch breaks, when the sun is at its brightest. Instead, the idea is to move flexible sources of demand, such as electric-vehicle (EV) charging and district-heating buffers, into hours of abundant energy.
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