Daily guide · BE · 2026-08-14
What solar actually earned per MWh in Belgium this week
All numbers computed from the week's published auction results at publication and frozen — this article is an honest snapshot, not a page that rewrites itself. Reproduce via the API.
Belgian solar captured an average of 62,28 EUR/MWh this week, against a baseload average of 121,85 EUR/MWh. That leaves the capture rate at 0,49, meaning solar earned roughly half of what a flat, round-the-clock generator did. The gap is the familiar story of midday abundance depressing the very hours solar produces.
The week split cleanly. On 8 and 9 August capture collapsed to 21,93 and 23,06 EUR/MWh, with rates of 0,22 and 0,24, both days pairing high or moderate output with weak baseloads near 98,16 and 94,52 EUR/MWh. By contrast, 7 and 10 August held rates of 0,67 and 0,68 on captures of 81,36 and 85,77 EUR/MWh, and 13 August delivered the top capture at 94,86 EUR/MWh despite 7,8 GW of peak solar.
The concrete takeaway: peak output did not predict earnings. The 8,1 GW days on 8 and 11 August returned rates of 0,22 and 0,44, while lower-output days paid far better. For anyone marketing Belgian solar, the baseload backdrop, not the sunshine, set the value this week.
Solar has a pricing problem it created itself: every panel in BE produces at the same hours, so the more the fleet generates, the lower the price each MWh fetches. The number that captures this is the capture price — the generation-weighted price solar actually earned — and the capture rate, that price as a share of the plain average. Brochures quote the average; revenue arrives at the capture price. This week, measured on real generation and auction data:
62.28
€/MWh solar capture price this week (generation-weighted)
121.85
€/MWh baseload average — the number the brochure quotes
49%
capture rate — what solar keeps of the average price
Day by day
| Day | Capture €/MWh | Baseload €/MWh | Capture rate | Peak solar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-07 | 81.36 | 121.89 | 67% | 5.3 GW |
| 2026-08-08 | 21.93 | 98.16 | 22% | 8.1 GW |
| 2026-08-09 | 23.06 | 94.52 | 24% | 5.2 GW |
| 2026-08-10 | 85.77 | 126.81 | 68% | 6.9 GW |
| 2026-08-11 | 50.53 | 114.23 | 44% | 8.1 GW |
| 2026-08-12 | 78.46 | 141.86 | 55% | 7.9 GW |
| 2026-08-13 | 94.86 | 155.51 | 61% | 7.8 GW |
Capture = Σ(hourly price × solar MW) / Σ(solar MW), from realized generation (ENTSO-E A75) and published auction results. Sunny days push the rate DOWN — that's the cannibalization.
Why this number runs businesses
If you're valuing a PPA, sizing a solar+storage project, or hedging merchant exposure, the capture
rate — not the average price — is your revenue line. One week is weather noise; the trend is the
signal: GET /v1/capture/BE?technology=solar&months=24
returns two years of monthly capture prices and rates, and
POST /v1/ppa/value backcasts a pay-as-produced PPA at your strike.
Both are on the Scale tier (Pro gets a teaser);
battery owners can flip the same effect into revenue — see the
battery arbitrage guide for what the storage side earned this week.
Method & citation. Prices are hourly means of published day-ahead auction results (native 15-minute periods averaged; ENTSO-E/SMARD, attributed). Wholesale-price component only — grid fees and taxes come on top and vary by supplier. Cite as "Voltcast Research, voltcast.com/guides/solar-capture-be-2026-08-14".
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