Monthly Market Deep-Dive — Belgium, 2026-m07

The Belgian electricity market over the 30-day period ending 1 August 2026 recorded a mean day-ahead price of €108.71/MWh with extraordinary volatility (standard deviation €59.53/MWh), driven by a pronounced solar-induced intraday price trough and steep evening ramps. An inverted peak/off-peak spread — with off-peak averaging €131.93/MWh versus peak at €89.07/MWh — highlights the structural impact of high midday solar generation (38.4% of total output) collapsing prices during traditional peak hours while evening demand surges drove prices above €170/MWh. Weekly average prices escalated from €68.48/MWh in the first week to €122.83/MWh in the final week, reflecting declining renewable shares, elevated TTF gas prices near €58–60/MWh, and persistent geopolitical risk premia from Middle East t

Monthly Market Deep-Dive — Germany-Luxembourg, 2026-m07

The DE_LU bidding zone recorded a mean day-ahead price of €104.26/MWh over the 30-day period (721 hours), characterised by extreme intraday volatility driven by a dramatic solar-shaped price curve that depressed midday prices below €17/MWh while evening peaks exceeded €171/MWh. Renewables supplied 66.5% of total generation, with solar alone contributing 32.4%, but 79 hours (11.0% of the period) still printed negative prices, underscoring the cannibalisation effect. A notable weekly price escalation—from €60.53/MWh in the first week to €121.30/MWh in the final week—coincided with declining renewable shares (dropping to 38.6% on 1 August) and persistent geopolitical risk premia embedded in TTF gas prices hovering near €58–60/MWh. The Quasar 7-day forecast projects a further step-up to an ave

Monthly Market Deep-Dive — France, 2026-m07

The French electricity market during this 30-day period (721 hours) exhibited an unusually elevated mean price of €95.95/MWh with extreme intraday volatility (standard deviation €63.14/MWh), driven by a stark solar-driven duck curve that collapsed midday prices to as low as €18.52/MWh (hour 11) while evening peaks exceeded €163/MWh (hours 19-20). Remarkably, off-peak hours averaged €120.90/MWh — 61% above the peak-hour average of €74.83/MWh — a complete inversion of typical price profiles explained by solar saturation during daytime and steep thermal ramp requirements after sunset. France maintained its position as a dominant net exporter, dispatching over 5.9 TWh across all borders with the FR→IT interconnector running at 98.2% NTC utilisation, underpinned by a robust nuclear fleet averag

Monthly Market Deep-Dive — Netherlands, 2026-m07

The Netherlands electricity market recorded a mean day-ahead price of €104.8/MWh across the 721-hour period ending 1 August 2026, characterised by extreme intraday price swings — from a floor of −€25.1/MWh during solar-rich midday hours to a peak of €339.0/MWh during evening ramps. Remarkably, off-peak hours averaged €131.1/MWh while peak hours averaged only €82.5/MWh, reflecting a fully inverted peak/off-peak spread driven by massive solar cannibalisation of daytime prices. Negative pricing occurred in 59 of 721 hours (8.2%), concentrated in the midday window when solar output from an installed base of 29.3 GW collapses wholesale prices below zero. Weekly average prices escalated steadily from €65.2/MWh in the first week to €121.2/MWh in the final week, a trajectory consistent with rising