Solar and wind energy proved to be very decisive for the electricity price this week. Overall, the electricity quote was quite stable this week. Although the price fell one day lower due to a surplus of wind energy. In addition, Minister of Climate and Energy Rob Jetten and his British colleague Grant Shapps announced yesterday afternoon (24 April) a new electricity cable between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Electricity prices were relatively stable this week except for one day. On Wednesday, April 19, the EPEX was much lower than the rest of the week, with electricity trading at €52,41 per megawatt hour. In addition, the trading rate for electricity this week ranged approximately between €85 and €112. On Thursday, April 20, the quotation on the EPEX was at its highest, at a level of €111,93.
The low quotation on Thursday, April 19, was the result of the coincidence of large amounts of wind and sun. Due to the large production of renewable energy, a negative rate of between -€200 and -€300 was applied at times. Although the wind farms were completely switched off from the beginning of the afternoon, Tennet was forced to call in emergency power to get rid of the surpluses on the electricity network.
The wind was a lot less strong for the rest of the week and the electricity market was a lot more stable. There was plenty of solar energy. In general, renewable energy production was high. Including biomass, no less than 60,1% of Dutch electricity was generated renewablely. Solar and wind energy together accounted for 49,7% of the Dutch electricity supply. The fact that electricity rates were still around €100 per megawatt hour is due to hourly rates of around €140 to €150 when little renewable electricity was produced.
The Netherlands and the UK connect energy network
In addition, the Netherlands has announced a new power connection with the United Kingdom. The new cable is called Lionlink. Together with British Minister of Energy Security Grant Shapps, Jetten announced the new cable at the North Seas Summit in Ostend. The new connection is directly connected to a Dutch wind farm. This way, the Netherlands can directly export electricity to the United Kingdom without loss of power. With the new cable, the Dutch government hopes to prevent a shutdown of wind turbines like last week in the future.
The cable must become part of a larger future network in the North Sea. The cable can supply 2 gigawatts of wind energy to both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The European Union and the United Kingdom have the joint goal of generating no less than 2030 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 120. The Netherlands must provide 21 gigawatts.