Europe’s solar grid braces for Sahara dust cloud

Europe’s solar energy will be curbed in the coming days by a plume of dust from the Sahara Desert, likely boosting electricity prices.

Forecasts suggest that Germany’s solar output will be reduced by 11 gigawatts, nearly a third of its total and enough to power nearly 10 million homes.

Renewable energy’s intermittent output is a problem, because a lack of utility-scale batteries means electricity cannot easily be stored.

When the sun shines and/or wind blows, power is cheap, and prices can even turn negative if there is more than the grid can handle. But when there is a shortage and there is insufficient power from sources such as geothermal or nuclear, grids must switch to more expensive fossil fuels.