Solar power is particularly suited to dealing with summer heat because solar radiation is strongest around the hottest part of the day, when the demand for electricity for cooling is also highest.
“The very significant growth in solar is essentially offsetting the spikes caused by air conditioning,” Kristian Ruby, secretary general of electricity industry group Eurelectric, said of the situation in Spain.
Spain and Greece are among countries that have installed significantly more solar panels in the face of record energy prices last year and the quest for increased energy security linked to Russian attacks in Ukraine.
Spain added a record 4.5 gigawatts of solar PV capacity last year, resulting in solar power generation in July – usually one of the sunniest months – that was higher than n any month so far, said Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica.
Data from Ember showed that solar power provided nearly 24% of Spain’s electricity in July this year, up from 16% in July 2022.
When soaring temperatures and demand for cooling caused Sicilian electricity demand to peak on July 24, almost half of the excess demand – which amounted to 1.3 GW – was covered by energy solar, according to data from Refinitiv. Sicily’s solar output last month was more than double that of July 2022.
“Without the additional solar power, the impact on system stability would have been much worse,” said Nathalie Gerl, energy analyst at Refinitiv.
Solar power alone cannot keep grids under severe strain. Catania, under Mount Etna in eastern Sicily, has faced power and water cuts that local authorities have partly blamed on the heat. In Athens, power grid operator IPTO said wildfires had damaged sections of the power grid.
But higher solar production helped meet demand in both countries. During Greece’s peak electricity demand this year, also on July 24, solar photovoltaic energy covered 3.5 GW of the total demand of 10.35 GW, grid operator IPTO said.
Even in cooler, less sunny western countries like Belgium, solar energy covered more than 100% of the additional energy needed during peak electricity demand at midday.
Destruction of the request
Despite its rapid growth, solar energy still represents a relatively small share of the energy mix in most countries, where sources such as wind, gas, coal and nuclear energy generally cover most of the demand during the year.
Analysts say a second factor has helped keep Europe’s energy systems running this summer: Overall, electricity demand has been relatively weak.
This has been the case since last year’s European energy crisis, when Russia cut gas supplies to Europe. Energy prices in Europe are still high compared to historic levels – and consumers and industries have responded by using less energy.
The extreme heat of this summer has sometimes broken this trend. But overall demand has been below normal – Italy’s average hourly energy consumption in July was 4.4% lower than in July 2022, while Spain’s was down. down 3.6%, according to Refinitiv data.
“The only reason it’s been bearable is the low power demand environment we’re in right now,” Refinitiv’s Gerl said.
The worse is yet to come
Scientists expect climate change to make heat waves of the type that southern Europe experienced this summer more frequent and even more severe in coming years, which will increase the burden on European energy infrastructure.
“Our energy systems are indeed not designed to deal with such situations,” said Simone Tagliapietra, senior researcher at the Bruegel think tank.
Even before this year’s wildfires and record temperatures, last year’s heat and drought reduced hydropower generation, hampered fuel transportation by river and forced some nuclear power plants to cut output when plant cooling was limited by high river temperatures.
In a letter to the European Commission last week, industry groups including SolarPower Europe urged policymakers to accelerate investment in energy networks and promote projects that combine solar power with energy storage, to ensure that solar energy develops fast enough to meet climate change goals.
