Germany has so much energy coming from solar panels that it's outpaced consumer demand and pushed energy prices into a steep nose dive — even going past zero into the negative,from the European financial services firm SEB showed that prices for energy during the day dropped to €9.10 per megawatt-hour, versus the average of €70.60 per megawatt-hour during times when the Sun isn't shining.
But the biggest implication is the lack of efficiency. Consumers tend to use the most energy when the Sun isn't shining, such as in the evening when they get home from work, meaning that a lot of power is being wasted.The cause behind this steep drop in energy prices is that Germany went on a solar power spree last year, installing a high water mark of 14,280 megawatts of solar power capacity, nearly double compared to the previous year.
Obviously, the longterm solution is to install energy storage solutions that can store this excess solar energy so that consumers can tap it for cloudy days and in the evening when power demand is historically at its highest. Until then, states with an excess of solar power will have to ride the tumultuous wave of energy prices going up and down like a roller coaster.