German, French Spot Power Prices Surge as Wind Output Plummets

Wind Energy / Economics

In 2018, London (Platts) reported that both German and French day-ahead power prices soared Monday on expectations for significantly lower wind output in both countries, with lignite capacity in Germany set to rise following planned maintenance works.

• German wind halves, French falls to 1.3 GW
• German lignite capacity set to rise over 1 GW
• German curve shows slight increase in cost

Wind generation was forecast to halve Tuesday in Germany prompting prices to surge as a result. Day-ahead baseload soared Eur15.25 to Eur34.50/MWh from where Monday delivery was assessed Friday, while the peakload contract rose even further, up Eur16.10 to Eur43.60/MWh before 1100 GMT. EPEX Spot settled Tuesday delivery at higher levels to over-the-counter German prices at Eur35.81/MWh for baseload and Eur44.17/MWh for peakload.

Wind generation was forecast to more than halve during Tuesday's peak hours to a load factor of 33%, or 18.2 GW on average, from a load factor of 74% Monday, with a similar drop expected for baseload hours, according to spotrenewables.com.

Original URL: https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/012918-german-french-spot-power-prices-surge-as-wind-output-plummets