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French electricity prices turned negative as a drop in demand and surging renewables output prompted some nuclear reactors to power down.<\/p>\n
Daily consumption from Thursday through Sunday is seen falling by an average 6 gigawatts, a Bloomberg model shows. Sunny and blustery weather has driven up solar and wind generation, prompting the grid operator to request that Electricite de France<\/a> SA take several nuclear plants offline.<\/p>\n While more clean power is needed across Europe to reach climate goals, soaring renewables output and a lack of battery storage mean reactors sometimes have to be turned off during periods of low demand. It\u2019s becoming increasingly common around weekends in France \u2014 which gets about two-thirds of its electricity from its atomic fleet \u2014 and also occurs in the Nordic region and Spain.<\/p>\n EDF halted its Golfech 2, Cruas 2 and Tricastin 1 nuclear plants, and plans to halt three others during the weekend. Some renewables producers will also have to curb generation to avoid paying a fee amid negative prices.<\/p>\n French day-ahead power fell to -\u20ac5.76 a megawatt-hour, the lowest in four years, in an auction on Epex Spot. Germany\u2019s equivalent contract dropped to \u20ac7.64.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n