In February, prices in the main European electricity markets fell, most of them reaching the lowest levels since the first half of 2021. Photovoltaic energy reached the production record for a February month in Spain and Portugal, a milestone that wind energy production also reached in Spain. Gas and CO2 futures prices also declined, reaching their lowest levels since May and July 2021, respectively.
In February 2024, year-on-year variations in solar energy production were heterogeneous in the main European electricity markets. Most markets registered declines, ranging from 18% in France to 3.4% in Italy. On the Iberian Peninsula, the variations were opposite. In the Portuguese and Spanish markets, solar energy production increased by 18% and 11%, respectively.
In addition, during the second month of 2024, Spain and Portugal broke historical records for photovoltaic energy production compared to the same month in previous years. The Spanish market generated 2447 GWh and the Portuguese market, 263 GWh. The year-on-year increase observed in photovoltaic energy production was due to the increase in installed capacity over the last twelve months. According to Red Eléctrica data, between February 2023 and February 2024, Mainland Spain added 4773 MW of photovoltaic capacity. During the same period, the Portuguese market added 768 MW of this technology to the system.
With longer days, solar energy production increased in February compared to January in all markets analyzed at AleaSoft Energy Forecasting. The increase ranged from 27% in the French market to 61% in the German market.
