A partial solar eclipse is seen beside the ‘Golden Victoria’ statue on top of the Victory Column (Siegessaule) in Berlin March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo
By Vera Eckert, Reuters
Electrical transmission networks in Germany are preparing for a solar eclipse this week that could trigger a sudden fall of around 1 gigawatt (GW) in solar power output, grid firm Amprion (RWEG.DE) said on Monday.
The event will take place between 0920 GMT and 1140 GMT on Thursday in northern Europe, an Amprion background paper said.
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Although it is expected to have a more modest impact than 2015’s solar eclipse across Europe — which reduced output by 15GW in a country that can need up to 80 GW of power on winter days — Germany’s four high-voltage grid operators, or TSOs, must keep the grids in balance because large amounts of power cannot be stored.
“The network frequency has to be stable and swings in production must be balanced,” said an Amprion spokeswoman.
The TSOs can draw on alternative energy sources such as coal, gas, nuclear and hydroelectric energy. One GW is equivalent to the installed capacity of a nuclear power station.
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