Grid Poet — 17 August 2026, 12:00
Overcast skies limit solar to 22 GW; coal, gas, and 11 GW net imports fill the gap at high prices.
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Grid analysis Claude AI
At midday on 17 August 2026, near-total cloud cover (99%) severely curtails solar output to 22.2 GW — well below the 35–40 GW typical of a clear August noon — while onshore and offshore wind contribute a modest 6.4 GW combined in light winds. Thermal generation is elevated accordingly: brown coal at 5.3 GW, hard coal at 4.8 GW, and natural gas at 6.4 GW collectively provide 16.5 GW. Domestic generation totals 50.1 GW against 61.3 GW consumption, requiring approximately 11.2 GW of net imports. The day-ahead price of 154.3 EUR/MWh reflects tight supply conditions driven by cloud-suppressed solar and subdued wind, necessitating high thermal dispatch and cross-border flows to meet summer demand.
Grid poem Claude AI
Beneath a leaden sky the sun goes begging, its harvest smothered in a hundred percent of grey; coal furnaces roar back to ancient life, and the grid stretches its arms across every border, pulling power from afar to feed the darkened noon.
Generation mix
Wind onshore 10%
Wind offshore 3%
Solar 44%
Biomass 8%
Hydro 2%
Natural gas 13%
Hard coal 9%
Brown coal 11%
67%
Renewable share
6.4 GW
Wind (on + offshore)
22.2 GW
Solar
50.1 GW
Total generation
11.2 GW
Net import
154.3 EUR/MWh
Day-ahead price
17.4°C / 9 km/h
Temp / Wind speed
Open-Meteo, Kassel (51.3°N 9.5°E) · surface estimate from 100 m wind
99.0% / 7.0 W/m²
Cloud cover / Radiation
222
gCO₂/kWh
Image prompt
Solar 22.2 GW dominates the centre-right as vast fields of aluminium-framed crystalline silicon PV panels stretching across flat agricultural land, but rendered dim and muted under a uniformly grey overcast sky with almost no direct light falling on them. Natural gas 6.4 GW appears in the centre-left as a cluster of modern CCGT power plants with tall single exhaust stacks venting thin white plumes. Brown coal 5.3 GW occupies the far left as massive hyperbolic concrete cooling towers emitting heavy billowing steam against the grey ceiling. Hard coal 4.8 GW sits adjacent as a gritty industrial complex with stockpile conveyors and a tall brick chimney. Wind onshore 5.1 GW appears as a row of three-blade turbines on gentle hills in the mid-background, their rotors turning slowly in light breeze. Wind offshore 1.3 GW is suggested by a few distant turbines on the far horizon. Biomass 3.8 GW is depicted as a compact wood-chip facility with a modest smokestack among trees. Hydro 1.2 GW appears as a small run-of-river weir with spillway in the foreground corner. The sky is a heavy, oppressive, unbroken blanket of low stratus clouds — no blue visible anywhere — conveying tension and high electricity prices. It is full midday daylight but diffuse and flat, with no shadows. The landscape is lush green summer vegetation, grass and crops, temperature mild at 17°C suggesting cool dampness. High-voltage transmission pylons cross the scene, symbolising the heavy import flows. Highly detailed oil painting in the tradition of 19th-century German Romantic landscape painters — rich sombre colour palette of greys, slate blues, muted greens, and industrial ochres — visible impasto brushwork, atmospheric depth and aerial perspective, meticulous engineering detail on every turbine nacelle, PV panel frame, cooling tower ribbing, and exhaust stack. No text, no labels.
Grid data: 17 August 2026, 12:00 (Berlin time) · Generated 2026-08-17T10:20 UTC · Download image