On August 2, 2026, Germany set a new August record for solar power generation, reaching 450 gigawatt-hours. A recent analysis put the calculated solar surplus at 22,800 megawatts at times. This was driven by high PV feed-in and low electricity consumption on a Sunday. At the same time, there was a lack of sufficient storage, flexible consumers, and regional grid capacity. Consequently, there is a risk of increased curtailment, redispatch interventions, and additional costs for electricity customers.
Solar surplus highlights flawed planning in PV expansion
The solar surplus of 22.8 gigawatts represents a peak power output, not a quantity of energy lost over a period of hours. Nevertheless, the political message is clear: Germany incentivized generation capacity faster than it adapted grids, storage, and consumption.
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While electricity exports and batteries can absorb some of the midday power output, the market has long been sending clear warning signals. In the second quarter of 2026, there were 1,006 fifteen-minute intervals with negative prices; the lowest point reached minus 500 euros per megawatt-hour. At the same time, evening prices climbed as high as 747.10 euros because solar power drops off after sunset.
Bayernwerk forced to make millions of grid adjustments
Bavaria clearly illustrates how quickly this structural flaw impacts distribution grids. By March 2026, approximately 25 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity had been installed there. Bayernwerk recorded solar peaks of 12,000 megawatts within its service area. Furthermore, redispatch interventions surged from around 200,000 in 2022 to approximately two million in 2025.
While this figure does not represent two million separate near-blackout events, it does document a tenfold increase in control interventions over the course of three years. Meanwhile, Bayernwerk is investing more than 5.4 billion euros in its grids between 2024 and 2026. This scale of expansion highlights the infrastructure demands resulting from unchecked PV growth.
Consumers Foot the Bill for Curtailment and Countermeasures
Nationwide, grid congestion management reached a volume of 30,319 gigawatt-hours in 2025. Consequently, preliminary costs rose to 3.071 billion euros. The surplus of solar power within grid operations became a particularly alarming issue; the curtailment of PV systems surged by 94 percent to 2,704 gigawatt-hours. At the same time, grid operators were forced to ramp up conventional power plants elsewhere.
The federal government is only now responding with two draft laws approved by the cabinet. New small and medium-sized rooftop systems will be required to limit their feed-in to 50 percent of their installed capacity. Furthermore, the government plans to increase direct marketing while reducing guaranteed subsidies. Katharina Reiche describes this as a “paradigm shift for renewables.” In reality, the government is correcting errors that had been evident for years. As a result, the expansion of PV capacity in overloaded regions must be paused until the necessary grids, storage facilities, or flexible consumers are in place.
Author: Blackout News
Sources: PV-Magazine (04.08.26) – YouTube (04.08.26) – AleaSoft Energy Forecasting (03.08.26)