Solar and wind generation trends lift southern Europe’s power mix, with Spain and Italy setting March records

Power markets across Europe are getting a notable boost from changing weather patterns: during the week of March 23, solar photovoltaic energy production climbed in most key southern European countries, while wind trajectories diverged ahead of the following week. The shift matters for day-ahead expectations and balancing needs as higher renewable supply can alter generation stacks and commercial trading dynamics.

solar photovoltaic energy production increased across most major southern European markets compared with the prior week. Portugal posted the largest improvement, with output up 31%. Italy and Spain extended their gains for a third straight week, rising by 19% and 13%, respectively. By contrast, production fell in Germany (down 11%) and was nearly flat in France, declining just 0.1%, reversing growth seen the previous week.

Spain and Italy log new March solar highs

The strongest headline came from record-setting solar performance. Both Spain and Italy reached new all-time highs for solar photovoltaic generation for a March day. Spain achieved its peak on Tuesday, March 24, producing 194 GWh; Italy followed on Wednesday, March 25, generating 139 GWh.

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting expects this momentum to persist into the week of March 30. The firm projects photovoltaic production will continue to trend positively in both the Italian and Spanish markets, while it anticipates a decrease in Germany.

Diverging movement in wind across major markets

The picture is mixed when moving from solar to wind. In terms of wind energy production, increases were recorded across most major European markets versus the previous week. Italy

Italy

Italy

Italy

Italy

The largest rise came from Italy, where wind energy production increased by <78%. Germany

AleaSoft reports that during the week of March 23, wind generation rose broadly across Europe: This section summarizes only what is stated in the source.