Grid Poet — 31 August 2026, 14:00
Brown coal and wind dominate a fully overcast midday grid, pushing day-ahead prices slightly negative.
Back
← older newer →
Grid analysis Claude AI
At 14:00 on 31 August 2026, total domestic generation stands at 18.5 GW against reported consumption of 0.0 GW, indicating a data reporting gap in the consumption figure rather than a true zero-demand condition; the negative day-ahead price of -1.0 EUR/MWh confirms significant oversupply relative to actual demand. Renewables account for 63.9% of generation, led by wind onshore at 3.9 GW, wind offshore at 2.9 GW, and biomass at 3.9 GW, while solar contributes nothing despite the midday hour due to full cloud cover. Brown coal remains the single largest source at 4.3 GW, complemented by 1.6 GW of hard coal and 0.8 GW of natural gas, suggesting inflexible baseload commitments that are contributing to the negative pricing. The combination of strong wind generation, full thermal must-run output, and suppressed demand has pushed the market into slight negative territory — a routine late-summer oversupply pattern rather than an exceptional event.
Grid poem Claude AI
Beneath a leaden August sky, turbines churn and cooling towers breathe their pale hymns into the indifferent air, while the market whispers below zero, paying the world to take what it cannot hold. The grid groans gently with abundance it never asked for, a feast laid for guests who have not yet arrived.
Generation mix
Wind onshore 21%
Wind offshore 15%
Biomass 21%
Hydro 6%
Natural gas 4%
Hard coal 9%
Brown coal 23%
64%
Renewable share
6.8 GW
Wind (on + offshore)
0.0 GW
Solar
18.5 GW
Total generation
+18.5 GW
Net export
-1.0 EUR/MWh
Day-ahead price
20.6°C / 26 km/h
Temp / Wind speed
Open-Meteo, Kassel (51.3°N 9.5°E) · surface estimate from 100 m wind
100.0% / 133.0 W/m²
Cloud cover / Radiation
276
gCO₂/kWh
Image prompt
Brown coal 4.3 GW occupies the left quarter as three massive hyperbolic cooling towers with thick white-grey steam plumes rising into overcast sky; biomass 3.9 GW appears left-of-centre as a cluster of wood-chip-fed power stations with modest chimneys and thin smoke trails; wind onshore 3.9 GW fills the centre-right as a line of modern three-blade turbines on lattice towers set on rolling green late-summer hills, blades spinning briskly in strong wind; wind offshore 2.9 GW appears in the far right background as a row of turbines standing in a grey North Sea visible on the horizon; hard coal 1.6 GW is rendered centre-left as a single large coal plant with a tall square stack and conveyor belts; hydro 1.2 GW appears as a concrete dam and spillway nestled in a forested valley in the middle distance; natural gas 0.8 GW is a compact CCGT unit with a single slender exhaust stack near the coal plant. No solar panels anywhere. The sky is entirely overcast with a thick, uniform layer of grey-white stratiform clouds at 14:00 full daylight — bright diffuse illumination but absolutely no direct sun or blue sky visible. Despite overcast, the light is even and strong, casting almost no shadows. Temperature is a mild 20°C, and the vegetation is lush late-summer green with some fields showing golden-brown mature crops. Wind visibly bends tall grasses and tree canopies. The negative price creates a calm, open, almost serene atmosphere despite the industrial subjects. Highly detailed oil painting in the tradition of 19th-century German Romantic landscape painters — rich colour palette of muted greens, warm ochres, cool greys, visible expressive brushwork, atmospheric depth with aerial perspective softening distant elements. Each energy technology rendered with meticulous engineering accuracy: turbine nacelles with three-blade rotors, aluminium cooling tower frameworks, conveyor infrastructure. The scene feels like a masterwork painting of Germany's industrial-pastoral landscape. No text, no labels.
Grid data: 31 August 2026, 14:00 (Berlin time) · Generated 2026-08-31T12:20 UTC · Download image