France, Germany, and Italy each set all-time highs for solar energy produced on a day in December last week, according to analysis by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting.
The Spanish consultancy found the German market reached 87 GWh on Christmas Day, while the Italian and French markets hit 66 GWh and 54 GWh on December 28.
Solar energy production also increased week-on-week in the Portuguese and Spanish markets. For the week commencing December 29, AleaSoft is expecting the trend to continue in Italy and Spain, but for solar energy production to decline in Germany.
The increase in solar energy last week had a downward influence on electricity prices in some markets.
AleaSoft found that, when compared to the week prior, the weekly average electricity price decreased across the Belgian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Nordic, Portuguese and Spanish markets last week. The exceptions were the British and French markets, where average prices rose by 7.2% and 0.4% week-on-week.
Weekly averages were below €85 ($99.94)/MWh in all analyzed markets bar the British (€91.33/MWh) and Italian (€108.41/MWh) markets. The Nordic market registered the lowest weekly average, at €38.34/MWh.
AleaSoft says lower electricity demand caused by the Christmas holidays, alongside increased solar and wind energy production, drove prices down in most cases. The consultancy is expecting the current week to bring an increase in electricity prices across most analyzed markets as demand recovers. However, prices are expected to continue a downward trend in Germany and Italy.
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