European energy operators are braced for next week’s solar eclipse to cause a temporary dip in power generation and have taken steps to keep electricity flowing to businesses and consumers, an industry body said on Friday.
While the eclipse on Wednesday offers a rare spectacle for the general public, it presents a technical challenge for grid operators, which must constantly balance electricity supply and demand to guarantee secure power provision.
“Under clear-sky conditions, photovoltaic output could decrease by up to 9.7GW across Europe, creating a rapid, but predictable change in generation patterns between 19:15-21:30 CEST,” said the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), the association representing Europe’s power grid operators.
Photo: AFP
Operators were “ready to ensure the secure and stable operation of the electricity system throughout the event,” it said.
A task force to coordinate preparations, monitor the situation and aid information-sharing before and after the eclipse has been activated, it added.
Spain — where the moon would completely cover the sun in a total eclipse — is expected to experience the biggest solar power reduction, along with Germany, ENTSO-E said.
The EU had about 406GW of installed solar capacity at the end of last year, SolarPower Europe said.
The ENTSO-E represents 40 operators representing 36 countries.
With solar now making up about 13 percent of Europe’s electricity mix, the group said its members were “increasingly managing weather-related and natural phenomena that can influence generation patterns over short periods of time.”
Proactive steps included briefing control room operators and warning market participants about the expected dip in solar generation, while “avoiding planned grid outages during the eclipse period to maximize operational flexibility,” it said.
“To support real-time decisionmaking, local system operators receive additional updated photovoltaic generation forecasts from weather service providers,” it added.
The total eclipse is the first visible in mainland Europe since 2006, with the “path of totality” passing from remote northern Russia over Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and the northeastern tip of Portugal.
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