Background Energy
Why does power production already peak in April?
The energy market has been characterized in recent weeks by the supply of large amounts of renewable energy. Easter Monday even broke a record for the production of green electricity. How come so much solar and wind energy is generated so early in the year?
In recent years, the Netherlands has invested heavily in wind turbines and solar panels. Logically, the extra capacity ensures a larger share of green electricity in the energy mix. The efficiency of new solar panels and wind turbines is also constantly improving. The Climate Agreement stipulates that an increasing proportion of energy needs must be generated sustainably.
The record that was broken earlier this month will certainly not be the last. Nevertheless, the peak in solar energy production remains strange for the beginning of April. After all, the longest day is on or around June 21. Due to the position of the sun, solar radiation is also weaker early in the year than in the middle of summer.
Solar panels benefit from coolness
However, solar panels have the property that they work more efficiently at low temperatures. The warm weather that is usually accompanied by sunny days in July and August is therefore negative for the optimal functioning of solar panels. KNMI data on the yield of solar panels over the year shows that there is a broad period from April to September in which the yields are fairly constant.
April is therefore not much lower than June due to the lower temperatures, while in June there are more hours of sunshine and stronger radiation. In the winter months, the low temperatures favor solar panels, but the sun shines too short and the radiation is too weak to take advantage of it. In the winter we often have more wind in the Netherlands to compensate for this decline in solar energy.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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