The peaks and troughs in the electricity market are relatively close together this week. Compared to a year ago, the price remains firm. The growth in the number of solar panels and wind turbines is causing headaches for grid operators. The government continues to encourage their construction with the SDE++ and this is increasingly being criticized.
The supply of wind and solar energy created a ceiling in the electricity market. On Tuesday, June 7, the price peaked at €183,40 per MWh. On Sunday the price fell to the lowest level of the past week at €109,96 per MWh. Today the price has risen to €187,37 per MWh despite the forecast sunny weather. This means that the band between which the electricity price moved last week is relatively narrow. A difference of more than €100 between the highest and lowest quotation is certainly not unusual.
The transport of that green electrical energy on the grid is a major challenge for grid operators. On Thursday, June 9, TenneT and Enexis announced that congestion has been declared for the provinces of Brabant and Limburg. As a result, new requests for transport capacity are rejected. This applies to both customers and suppliers of electricity. This situation may last until 2032. The climate ambitions of The Hague are coming under pressure due to electricity supply problems. In addition, the overcrowded network also has negative effects on the development of companies and therefore the economy in the region, VNO-NCW and MBK Netherlands warn.
Subsidies reinforce congestion
Criticism is mounting from various quarters about the SDE++ subsidy scheme that will be opened at the end of this month (June 28). A budget of €13 billion has been made available for this year, including for solar panels, wind turbines and CO2 capture systems. Grid operators are already having great difficulty transporting the power generated by solar panels. According to experts, encouraging the construction of new solar panels and wind turbines with subsidies is not the right way to go. Hurrying to adapt the grid and encouraging innovations that can accommodate peaks in the production of sustainable sources would be more effective, according to this group of experts.