The European Union’s transition to green energy reached a turning point in May when, for the first time in history, photovoltaic panels produced more electricity than all coal-fired power plants in the EU, and that’s before the summer, when solar power production will increase even more, reports Bloomberg, reported by Agerpres.

Even if this rapid expansion of PV capacity bodes well for efforts to shift from fossil fuels, the historical moment also highlights the shortcomings of the energy system.

Electricity prices fell on some sunny days in May as grid operators struggled to cope with increased solar production.

“We’re not ready yet”

“This summer will be like a vision sent from the future. The main message will be: we are not ready yet,” says Kesavartini Savarimuthu, an analyst at BloombergNEF.

Nowhere is the PV boom and adaptation risks more evident than in the Netherlands. It has more than 100 megawatts of solar panels installed for every 100,000 inhabitants, double that of sunny Spain and triple that of China, which is the undisputed world leader in total installed solar capacity.

The Netherlands claims to have the densest network of photovoltaic panels in the world thanks to government support programs. These programs reward households that install solar panels, with each kilowatt of electricity produced resulting in lower electricity bills.

“The Dutch government did this to incentivize the installation of solar panels, but the program turned out to be too successful,” says Jorrit de Jong, a spokesman for TenneT, a Dutch grid operator that also has rooftop installations, the house has seven photovoltaic panels that produce at least 80% of the household’s annual electricity consumption.

“If I do laundry or charge my car when the sun isn’t shining, it doesn’t matter to me because my electricity supplier is paying me,” says Jorrit de Jong.

Photoelectric panels are in fashion

Across Europe, people are following the example of the Netherlands. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the installation of photovoltaic panels in the EU increased at an accelerated rate. In May, PV production rose 10% year-over-year to a record high of 27 terawatt-hours.

Unlike wind, hydro or geothermal energy, photovoltaic energy has the decisive advantage of quick installation. All that is needed is an incentive for homeowners and developers to turn their rooftops into mini wind farms. But national power grids were created with large generating capacities at the center to work in tandem with grid operators to keep the system balanced. A more distributed system is more difficult to manage and will be severely tested this summer.

There are already signs of a gap between electricity supply and demand. Electricity prices fell into negative territory last week as solar production hit a record high in Germany, Europe’s biggest power producer.

The existence of negative electricity prices is not new, and this situation is common during periods when large amounts of wind power are produced, or at night or on weekends when demand for electricity is lower.

Increasing price fluctuations

When there is a surge in electricity generation, suppliers must pay consumers for electricity use. This does not mean that all electricity comes from renewable sources. Some conventional power plants can be switched on or off to maintain grid stability.

Increasingly high price fluctuations and consistently low or even negative tariffs during periods when renewable generation reaches peak levels could jeopardize new investment, warns Axel Tiemann, managing director of Sonnedix, one of Europe’s largest solar farm developers. Sonnedix has doubled its European project portfolio since the end of 2021, but Thiemann warns that developing new PV projects will become more difficult unless the way the energy produced is managed changes.

“As the new investments are completed, the network will become increasingly saturated at certain times of the summer days. Even if you have an unlimited number of authorized PV projects, they will not be built if there is no clear path to market,” says Axel Tiemann.

Better adaptation to the influx of renewable energy will require a new kind of flexibility in the energy system that did not exist when all electricity came from a few large fossil fuel power producers or a few nuclear plants that could be started and stopped depending on the evolution. demand

There are several ways to adapt. Grid-connected batteries can harness energy during sunny or windy times of the day to resell it when renewable sources are no longer producing as much electricity. In addition, consumers can be encouraged to use energy during periods when renewable generation reaches peak levels. This could be especially important as more electric cars hit the road and households switch from traditional boilers to heat pumps.