by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Europe’s record-breaking heatwaves are exposing vulnerabilities in electricity systems increasingly dependent on weather-driven renewable energy as part of the European Union’s green agenda.
High-pressure conditions suppress wind generation while soaring temperatures drive up demand for air conditioning, increasing pressure on the EU’s power grid, according to a Worthy News investigation.
Recent analyses and experiences in Germany show that prolonged periods of extreme heat and so-called “heat domes”—persistent areas of high atmospheric pressure that trap hot air—can pose a significant challenge to wind-power generation.
During such weather conditions, winds can become unusually weak for prolonged periods, causing electricity production from wind turbines to fall sharply and, during particularly calm periods, to a fraction of their potential capacity.
The problem can become more acute because electricity demand simultaneously rises as millions of households, offices and businesses increase their use of air conditioning and other cooling systems.
WIND OUTPUT FALLS
Grid operators must compensate for insufficient wind generation with electricity from other sources, including gas-fired power stations, other conventional generation, electricity imports, battery storage or other available capacity.
The combination of unpredictable renewable generation and sudden increases in electricity demand can contribute to sharp price spikes on European wholesale electricity markets.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy and electricity market, experienced the phenomenon during June’s severe heatwave as persistent high-pressure weather brought both extreme temperatures and unusually calm conditions.
The country’s day-ahead electricity prices surged to 207.84 euros ($242) per megawatt-hour on June 24 as wind generation was forecast to plunge by 22 percent, market data showed.
Even more dramatic increases occurred in the 15-minute electricity market during the heatwave.
POWER PRICES SURGE
Germany recorded a quarter-hourly price of 747.10 euros ($870) per megawatt-hour, while the Netherlands reached 902.47 euros ($1,051) and Belgium recorded 1,038.25 euros ($1,209), according to market data cited by energy analysts.
Researchers studying Germany’s electricity system have long identified low-wind periods as a challenge for wind generation. An analysis based on 40 years of German weather data found that low-wind-power events occur more frequently in summer than in winter, although exceptionally prolonged periods are relatively rare.
Separate research into Germany’s so-called “Dunkelflaute,” or dark wind-lull periods, has linked prolonged shortages of wind and solar generation to persistent large-scale weather patterns, including high-pressure systems.
Researchers found that a high-pressure system over Germany associated with European atmospheric blocking was responsible for many Dunkelflaute events, although such periods predominantly occur during winter when solar production is already low.
The June heatwave presented a different summer challenge: abundant sunshine produced large amounts of solar electricity during daylight hours, but weak winds and continued high electricity demand became increasingly problematic toward evening as solar generation declined.
SOLAR POWER HELPS
The experience highlights a central challenge for increasingly renewable electricity systems: electricity supply can fluctuate with weather conditions while consumer demand does not necessarily follow the same pattern.
The strain was not confined to Germany.
Britain faced particularly high costs during the June heatwave as low wind generation coincided with reduced gas-fired generation and increased electricity demand.
It paid as much as 470 pounds ($630) per megawatt-hour for imported electricity at one stage, more than six times the average price in June 2025, according to published market data.
Wind supplied only around 13 to 15 percent of British electricity during part of the heatwave, compared with an average of roughly 30 percent during the previous year.
BRITAIN FACES LOW WIND
Britain’s National Energy System Operator said the extreme weather created challenges involving low wind, reduced gas-generation availability, sustained high demand, interconnector flows and network constraints.
Yet wind energy was not the only generation source affected.
High temperatures can reduce the efficiency of gas-fired power stations, while nuclear plants can be forced to reduce production when rivers used for cooling become too warm or water levels become too low.
During the June heatwave, French utility EDF reduced nuclear generation by about 4.1 gigawatts—roughly 7 percent of French electricity demand at the time—because high river temperatures restricted cooling capacity.
Several French reactors were reduced in output or temporarily taken offline as EDF sought to comply with environmental limits intended to prevent discharged cooling water from damaging river ecosystems, officials said.
SOLAR EFFICIENCY FALLS
Solar panels also become less efficient as their temperature rises, although exceptionally sunny conditions meant solar generation still played a major role in keeping Europe’s electricity system supplied.
A record 52 terawatt-hours of electricity was generated from solar power across the European Union in June, accounting for 25 percent of the bloc’s electricity and making it the EU’s largest individual source of power for the month.
It exceeded nuclear power at 21 percent, natural gas at 15 percent, wind at 14 percent, hydropower at 12 percent and coal at 8 percent.
The figures demonstrate the complex impact of extreme summer weather on renewable electricity: the same high-pressure conditions that suppress wind can create excellent conditions for solar generation.
However, analysts say vulnerability increases toward evening, when temperatures and cooling demand can remain high while solar generation rapidly falls.
EVENING CHALLENGE
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems found that the June heatwave produced particularly sharp electricity-price fluctuations during evening hours as cooling demand increased while conventional power stations operated at reduced capacity.
Fraunhofer said the situation highlighted what it called a continuing “storage gap” despite Germany’s rapidly expanding battery capacity.
German battery storage capacity increased from 25.4 to 29.3 gigawatt-hours during the first half of 2026, but researchers said further expansion could help transfer surplus daytime electricity into periods of low generation and reduce evening price spikes.
Despite these challenges, data show strong renewable-energy production.
Renewables supplied 61.8 percent of Germany’s net public electricity generation during the first half of 2026, according to Fraunhofer. Wind generation increased compared with the same period last year, while photovoltaic generation reached a record 43.2 terawatt-hours.
RENEWABLES EXPAND
The International Energy Agency expects wind eventually to become the European Union’s largest source of electricity, with its share rising from 17 percent to 25 percent by 2030.
Variable renewable energy—including wind and solar—is projected to provide about 46 percent of EU electricity by 2030, up from 30 percent in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency.
That growing reliance on weather-dependent generation increases the importance of electricity storage, flexible generation, demand management and stronger cross-border connections to maintain reliable supplies when weather conditions change.
The challenge has become especially visible during Europe’s latest heatwaves.
Hungary recently urged households and businesses to reduce electricity consumption as extreme heat and record-low Danube levels disrupted cooling at the Paks nuclear power station, while Slovenia also reduced nuclear output because of high river temperatures.
FOSSIL FUELS DEBATED
The strains are adding to an ongoing debate over whether Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels has moved too quickly relative to the development of storage, grid infrastructure and reliable backup generation.
Critics of EU energy policies argue that closing conventional generating capacity before sufficient alternatives and storage are available risks making electricity systems more vulnerable to weather-dependent fluctuations and price spikes.
Supporters of a faster transition counter that continued dependence on coal, oil and natural gas leaves Europe exposed to volatile fossil-fuel prices and geopolitical supply disruptions, while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
The debate has intensified as governments attempt to reconcile three sometimes competing objectives: reducing emissions, keeping electricity affordable and maintaining energy security.
Natural gas in particular continues to play an important balancing role because gas-fired power plants can rapidly increase output when electricity production from wind and solar declines.
CLIMATE DEBATE
The energy strains are also unfolding amid continuing debate over the causes and consequences of Europe’s extreme weather.
World Weather Attribution, an international group of climate scientists, said the severe June heatwave across Western Europe would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change.
Researchers said temperatures across parts of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and southern England reached 5 to 12 degrees Celsius above seasonal averages.
Human-produced greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning coal, oil and natural gas, have raised the global average temperature to around 1.4 degrees Celsius above 19th-century pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The WMO and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service say Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent.
SCIENTISTS QUESTION CONSENSUS
However, several prominent scientists have questioned aspects of prevailing assessments of the severity and projected consequences of climate change.
Richard Lindzen, an atmospheric physicist and professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has argued that concerns about global warming have been exaggerated and that political and media pressure has hindered scientific debate over climate change.
Judith Curry, a climatologist and former chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has emphasized uncertainties surrounding climate projections and repeatedly questioned the often-cited “97 percent consensus” among scientists about climate change.
Curry has argued that the figure can obscure significant differences among scientists over the magnitude of human-caused warming, climate sensitivity and future impacts.
John Christy, an atmospheric scientist and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, has questioned projections of catastrophic climate change and argued that societies have considerable capacity to adapt to changing climatic conditions.
ENERGY CHOICES
The growing challenge for governments and grid operators is therefore not simply producing more electricity but ensuring sufficient power remains available when weather conditions simultaneously increase demand and reduce output from several generating technologies.
Europe’s experience is fueling a wider discussion over how quickly fossil-fuel generation should be retired and how much conventional backup capacity should remain available while renewable energy continues to expand.
Energy experts say an electricity system increasingly powered by wind and solar requires substantial storage, stronger transmission networks, flexible generation, cross-border interconnections and other backup capacity to maintain reliable supplies, even during prolonged periods of extreme weather.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Europe’s record-breaking heatwaves are exposing vulnerabilities in electricity systems increasingly dependent on weather-driven renewable energy as part of the European Union’s green agenda.
Two Christians, including a young man and a father of four, have been killed in separate attacks in Pakistan, highlighting growing concern about violence and discrimination facing the Christian minority in the Islamic nation, well-informed sources told Worthy News on Sunday.
Lake Mead has fallen to its lowest level since the massive reservoir was filled nearly 90 years ago, underscoring the growing strain on the Colorado River system that supplies water and electricity across much of the American West.
Two former NBA players are seeking to put the transgender-athlete debate to a real-world test, declaring their intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft as questions intensify over who should be eligible to compete in women’s professional basketball.
After days of drawn-out negotiations, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a short-term government funding stopgap early Saturday morning.
The Trump administration is pressing Egypt to protect religious freedom amid mounting concerns over attacks, imprisonment and discrimination targeting the country’s large Christian community, including converts from Islam and members of the ancient Coptic Church.
Iran has dramatically expanded its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, demanding that the United States withdraw its forces from the Middle East, lift sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets and fully compensate Tehran for damage suffered during the war.