Electricity Market: Wholesale Electricity Prices in October 2023 Significantly Below The Previous Year's Level
Münster, Germany - Despite the nuclear phase-out in April 2023, wholesale electricity prices in Germany were 43.1 per cent lower in October 2023 than in October 2022.
Even in a two-year comparison (Oct. 2021: 14.0 ct/kWh), this is a significant drop of 37.9 per cent, although six nuclear power plants were still in operation in Germany at this time in 2021.
"The reasons for the drastic drop in wholesale electricity prices are the significantly lower gas prices, the gradual return of French nuclear power plants to the electricity market in 2022 and the rapid expansion of renewable energies in the current year," said IWR head Dr Norbert Allnoch in Münster.
However, the lower gas prices in 2023 will again lead to increased use of gas-fired power plants in Germany. Coal-fired power generation in Germany has fallen sharply in the first 10 months of 2023 despite the nuclear phase-out: According to data from the transmission system operators (ENTSO-E), the use of lignite to generate electricity has fallen by 20 per cent compared to the same period last year. Hard coal-fired power plants produced almost 32 per cent less coal-fired electricity than in the same period of the previous year.
The rapid expansion of renewable energies in Germany has also had a price-dampening effect in 2023. From January to October, new wind and solar power plants with a record total capacity of almost 14,900 MW went into operation in Germany. Around 3,200 MW of this is attributable to new wind energy systems (onshore and offshore) and 11,700 MW to photovoltaic systems.
Source: IWR Online, 21 Nov 2023
