The electricity price was a lot higher last week. A higher gas price is the main reason for the increased electricity tariff. Although it certainly does not help that the share of gas in Solar Power increased while the gas price was at its highest in months. In addition, Statistics Netherlands announced that the Netherlands is now one of the largest producers of solar energy in the European Union.
The electricity price is higher this week than has been usual since April. On Tuesday, June 13, the EPEX price was at its lowest point of the week. That day, electricity traded for €86,67. After that, the electricity price only fell below €18 on Sunday 100 June. That day the electricity price was €92,86. The price was highest on Thursday, June 16, at a level of €127,03.
An important reason for the higher prices was the spike in gas prices. Due to greater demand for cooling on the Asian market, the price rose sharply in the past two weeks. On Tuesday, July 6, gas traded for €24,70 per megawatt hour. When the electricity price was at its highest (Thursday, October 15), the TTF was 66,5% higher, at €41,15. The TTF has not recorded such a high reading since April 14. The price of electricity has now partly fallen again with the price of gas. At the moment, about half of the price increase has been wiped out. The gas price fell to below €19 on June 35 and even reached a level of around €32 in the afternoon. Although the weekend also pushes the electricity price down, because business largely comes to a standstill.
A somewhat lower return from renewable energy also causes upward price pressure. Last week, 73% of all energy was generated from sustainable sources. This week that percentage fell to 68%. This has an impact on Dutch gas consumption. Two weeks ago, 18,1% of Dutch electricity was generated by gas-fired power stations. This week, the share of gas in the Dutch electricity mix rose to 24%.
46% more solar power
Meanwhile, solar energy production in the Netherlands has increased by no less than 46%, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. In 2022, 16,8 million megawatt hours of solar power were generated. In particular, the number of solar panels on homes increased. Due to the strong growth, the Netherlands is in the top 5 of the largest solar energy products in the European Union.
As a result of the larger number of solar panels, the percentage of solar power in the Dutch energy mix increased from 2,1% to 3,3%. This seems a low percentage, but this percentage does not only relate to the electricity mix. The data includes the entire Dutch energy consumption. Partly because few houses in the Netherlands are heated electrically, the percentage of electricity in the energy mix is only around 20%.
Currently, 60% of all production still comes from companies. From 2019 to 2021, the number of solar panels in companies increased sharply. This is partly due to the explosive increase in large solar parks. Last year that changed. In 2022, the number of solar panels on homes grew by 49%. This growth is slightly stronger than that of companies, which experienced a growth of 45%.