Grid Poet — 18 August 2026, 12:00
Overcast summer noon: solar leads at 18.5 GW but full cloud cover and moderate wind force 10.4 GW net imports.
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Grid analysis Claude AI
At midday on 18 August 2026, Germany's grid draws 58.4 GW against 48.0 GW of domestic generation, requiring approximately 10.4 GW of net imports. Solar contributes 18.5 GW despite complete cloud cover, reflecting the diffuse-light performance of Germany's large installed PV base, though output is well below clear-sky potential for a summer noon. Wind onshore adds 9.2 GW at moderate wind speeds, while thermal generation remains substantial: natural gas at 5.1 GW, hard coal at 4.6 GW, and brown coal at 4.1 GW, collectively providing 13.8 GW to close the gap left by below-potential renewables. The day-ahead price of 136.6 EUR/MWh is elevated but consistent with a summer overcast scenario where significant imports and thermal dispatch are required to meet demand.
Grid poem Claude AI
Beneath a sky sealed in slate, the turbines turn their patient arms while coal towers exhale pale columns into the grey—an empire of electrons drawn from every hidden source. The sun, entombed in cloud, still presses its diffuse gift through the veil, but the grid hungers beyond what light and wind alone can feed.
Generation mix
Wind onshore 19%
Wind offshore 3%
Solar 39%
Biomass 8%
Hydro 3%
Natural gas 11%
Hard coal 10%
Brown coal 8%
71%
Renewable share
10.6 GW
Wind (on + offshore)
18.5 GW
Solar
48.0 GW
Total generation
10.4 GW
Net import
136.6 EUR/MWh
Day-ahead price
14.6°C / 10 km/h
Temp / Wind speed
Open-Meteo, Kassel (51.3°N 9.5°E) · surface estimate from 100 m wind
100.0% / 0.0 W/m²
Cloud cover / Radiation
193
gCO₂/kWh
Image prompt
Solar 18.5 GW dominates the centre-right as vast fields of aluminium-framed crystalline silicon PV panels stretching across flat farmland, their glass surfaces reflecting only the uniform grey sky with no direct sunlight; wind onshore 9.2 GW fills the right third as dozens of three-blade turbines on tall lattice and tubular towers, blades slowly rotating in light breeze; natural gas 5.1 GW appears centre-left as compact CCGT power stations with slim exhaust stacks emitting thin heat shimmer; hard coal 4.6 GW occupies the left as a large coal plant with rectangular boiler houses, conveyor belts carrying black coal, and twin chimneys with faint grey smoke; brown coal 4.1 GW sits at the far left with massive hyperbolic cooling towers releasing thick white steam plumes; biomass 3.7 GW is a smaller industrial facility with wood-chip silos and a modest smokestack near the coal plants; wind offshore 1.4 GW appears as a distant line of offshore turbines on the far horizon; hydro 1.4 GW is represented by a small dam and powerhouse nestled in a gentle valley at the far right edge. The sky is entirely overcast with heavy, low, oppressive stratus clouds sealing the atmosphere — no blue sky visible, no sun, diffuse flat midday daylight illuminating everything evenly. The air feels heavy and humid. Summer vegetation is lush green but muted under the grey light — deciduous trees in full leaf, tall grass, wildflowers dampened. Temperature is cool for August at 14.6°C, suggesting damp air; a faint mist hangs at ground level between the turbine towers. The oppressive atmosphere reflects the elevated 136.6 EUR/MWh price — the clouds press down with a brooding weight. Style: highly detailed oil painting in the tradition of 19th-century German Romantic landscape painting, reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich and Carl Blechen, with rich muted earth tones, visible layered brushwork, atmospheric depth and perspective drawing the eye from the foreground coal infrastructure through the solar fields to the distant wind turbines on the horizon. Meticulous engineering detail on every technology — turbine nacelle housings, rotor blade pitch mechanisms, PV module grid patterns, cooling tower parabolic curvature, coal conveyor gantries. No text, no labels.
Grid data: 18 August 2026, 12:00 (Berlin time) · Generated 2026-08-18T10:20 UTC · Download image