Daily guide · NL · 2026-09-01
What solar actually earned per MWh in Netherlands 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.
Solar in the Netherlands earned an average capture price of 65,66 EUR/MWh across the week — sorry, 77,66 EUR/MWh — against an average baseload of 126,38 EUR/MWh. That works out to a capture rate of 0,58, meaning solar collected roughly 58 percent of the market-average price. The spread between days was wide: capture ran from 124,49 EUR/MWh on 28 August down to just 13,84 EUR/MWh on 29 August.
The 29 August result stands out. Capture fell to 13,84 EUR/MWh while baseload itself softened to 83,70 EUR/MWh, pushing the rate down to 0,17. By contrast, 28 August delivered the week's best rate at 0,85 on capture of 124,49 EUR/MWh. Notably, both days peaked at only 0,1 GW of solar, so volume alone did not decide the outcome — timing against the price curve did.
For the reader, the takeaway is that capture rate matters more than headline baseload. A day with strong absolute prices can still leave solar earning a small fraction of the market. Watch the rate, not just the level, when judging what a given day actually paid.
Solar has a pricing problem it created itself: every panel in NL 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:
77.66
€/MWh solar capture price this week (generation-weighted)
126.38
€/MWh baseload average — the number the brochure quotes
58%
capture rate — what solar keeps of the average price
Day by day
| Day | Capture €/MWh | Baseload €/MWh | Capture rate | Peak solar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-25 | 65.36 | 126.48 | 52% | 0.2 GW |
| 2026-08-26 | 106.04 | 148.02 | 72% | 0.2 GW |
| 2026-08-27 | 78.56 | 127 | 62% | 0.2 GW |
| 2026-08-28 | 124.49 | 146.71 | 85% | 0.1 GW |
| 2026-08-29 | 13.84 | 83.7 | 17% | 0.1 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/NL?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-nl-2026-09-01".
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