Sunny end to summer boosts solar in most of Europe

A blocking high-pressure system over Europe brought high temperatures and up to 20% more irradiance than normal across much of the continent in August.

This atmospheric pattern resulted in higher than average irradiance from the UK to Poland, with solar generation records broken across several regions. However, northern areas like Norway and Scotland saw significantly less sunlight due to wet weather driven by an Icelandic low pressure system. Meanwhile, the Italy and Greece, as well as the African Mediterranean coast experienced normal to slightly below-average irradiance, despite enduring record-breaking heatwaves.

Solar conditions were particularly favourable in a broad area from the UK and France to the Baltics, where irradiance levels were well above average for August. This trend, as reported midway through the month, continued as the high-pressure system persisted as forecast. Solar generation records were broken in multiple regions, with France surpassing 15 GW of generation for the first and second time in August, setting a new generation record early in the month. Latvia and Lithuania saw some of the most significant irradiance gains, exceeding 20% above normal, while central Germany also experienced substantial gains.

In contrast, Norway, parts of Sweden, and Scotland saw significantly lower irradiance than usual for August. These regions were less impacted by the high-pressure system that dominated most of Europe. Westerly winds brought wet and cloudy weather to these areas, as the Icelandic Low steered unsettled conditions across the region. Southern Sweden, however, benefited from higher than average irradiance, in line with the overall trend in northern Europe.

Across the Mediterranean, irradiance levels were closer to average, with many parts of Italy experiencing below-average conditions. However, this did not shield the region from the extreme heat. The Mediterranean basin faced its hottest August on record, surpassing the previous year's temperatures. Both Spain and Italy issued red alerts due to the heatwaves, which persisted despite the relatively normal solar conditions.

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