Commercial curtailment is on the decrease across Europe, except for one particular country.
Europe’s solar and wind farms are actively choosing not to produce energy, as experts warn more investment is needed in storage and flexible technologies.
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Renewables covered 45.5 per cent of the EU’s total electricity in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data – as member states continue to wean themselves off polluting fossil fuels. Wind led the way, covering 44.9 per cent of the total renewable mix, followed by hydropower (28 per cent) and solar (17.3 per cent).
It comes as the war on Iran sends oil and gas prices soaring, pushing Europeans further towards the green transition.
However, negative energy prices are also on the rise – hitting all-time highs in areas such as the Iberian Peninsula. This is where the wholesale price of electricity dips below zero due to supply outstripping demand.
It is a growing concern amid the renewables boom as solar and wind generate energy in response to particular weather conditions, rather than actual demand.
As a result, renewable generation is often temporarily switched off or put on a reduced output (known as curtailment). This could also occur when extreme weather poses a risk to renewable generation (for example, when it is too windy for turbines to safely operate).
When curtailment happens purely because generating electricity is no longer economically worthwhile (as opposed to grid constraints) this is known as price-sensitive curtailment, or commercial curtailment.
Which EU country switches off the most renewables?
A new analysis from energy market intelligence provider Montel found that commercial curtailment retreated across most of the continent in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year – with one major exception.
Germany saw commercial curtailment increase by 20 per cent, from 1,216
to 1,463 GWh, even as negative price hours in the country fell from 389 to 299, marking a 23 per cent decrease.
This means that when prices fall below zero, significantly more renewable generation is now being switched off.
Under Germany’s Solar Peak Act, introduced last year, newly built renewable assets lose their guaranteed subsidy top-up as soon as wholesale prices turn negative..
Experts say this has created a “much sharper commercial incentive” for renewable operators to switch off rather than keep generating at a loss.
“Since the introduction of Germany’s Solarspitzengesetz in February 2025, newly commissioned renewable assets lose support payments immediately whenever wholesale electricity prices turn negative, while continuing to receive full remuneration when prices remain at exactly zero,” says report author Jean-Paul Harreman.
Separately, Germany’s move to quarter-hourly day-ahead auctions last October has led to an increase in short periods where prices turn negative.
Renewable curtailment falls across Europe
France presented the largest contrast to Germany, with commercial curtailment falling by 32 per cent compared to last year – despite negative price hours increasing 14 per cent.
The country’s booming nuclear and solar production pushed prices below zero more frequently, but French subsidy rules encouraged generators to continue producing clean electricity rather than switching off.
The report credits the late-June heatwave for increasing electricity demand (due to cooling needs) which removed “midday surpluses on the hottest days”.
But it was Finland that recorded the sharpest decline out of the 10 countries analysed in the report. Here, commercial curtailment dropped by a staggering 89 per cent, while negative price hours fell from 337 to just 40.
“The driver was a Nordic hydrological deficit that lifted wholesale prices and largely eliminated the oversupply conditions responsible for negative pricing,” the report states.
“The Nordic water balance swung from a comfortable surplus a year ago to a deep deficit in 2026, with Norwegian snowpack near a 20-year low and reservoirs well below normal.”
The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Poland also saw commercial curtailment decrease.
How can countries slash their curtailment?
“These findings show that commercial curtailment was increasingly shaped by national market design, subsidy regimes, weather patterns and flexibility rather than renewable growth alone in the first half of this year,” says Harreman.
“Germany remains the clearest signal that investment in storage, demand response and other flexible technologies will be needed to absorb growing volumes of renewable generation that would otherwise be commercially curtailed.”
Battery storage is being touted as the main way to prevent electricity from being wasted and improve the flexibility of wind and solar generation.
Commercial and industrial battery storage is expected to roughly triple, from 9 GWh in 2026 to 24 GWh in 2028, with industry experts arguing even more investment is needed.
A 2026 report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that when solar and wind power are combined with battery storage, they can compete with new coal plants on costs and provide reliable, 24/7 electricity – regardless of the weather conditions.
Smart meters have also been identified as a key solution to Europe’s wasted energy problem, by giving households more control over their energy use and allowing them to take advantage of flexible ‘time of use’ tariffs, which offer lower prices when demand is low or renewable energy generation is high.
By supporting flexible tariffs that encourage households to run energy-intensive appliances like washing machines when renewable generation is abundant, they help to better align electricity demand with supply.
Electrifying households (by switching to an electric vehicle, for example) could also help prevent electricity dipping below zero by increasing demand when supply is plentiful.
