Grid Poet — 22 March 2026, 17:00
Brown coal leads at 11.3 GW as fading solar and modest wind drive elevated prices and 6.1 GW net imports.
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Grid analysis Claude AI
At 17:00 on a mild March evening, Germany draws 46.5 GW against 40.4 GW of domestic generation, requiring approximately 6.1 GW of net imports. Brown coal dominates the thermal stack at 11.3 GW, supplemented by 5.3 GW of natural gas and 4.8 GW of hard coal, reflecting a high residual load of 33.1 GW as solar output fades toward sunset and onshore wind contributes a modest 6.6 GW under light winds. The day-ahead price of 145.6 EUR/MWh is elevated but consistent with an evening peak where thermal capacity is running near full dispatch and imports are covering the gap. Renewables account for 46.9% of generation, with solar still contributing 6.5 GW in the final hour of useful irradiance under nearly clear skies.
Grid poem Claude AI
The coal fields breathe their ancient carbon skyward as the sun descends, a furnace empire ruling the dimming hour. Turbines turn slowly on the distant ridge, whispering of a power not yet sovereign.
Generation mix
Wind onshore 16%
Wind offshore 1%
Solar 16%
Biomass 11%
Hydro 3%
Natural gas 13%
Hard coal 12%
Brown coal 28%
47%
Renewable share
6.9 GW
Wind (on + offshore)
6.5 GW
Solar
40.4 GW
Total generation
-6.1 GW
Net import
145.6 €/MWh
Day-ahead price
13.6°C / 10 km/h
Temp / Wind speed
Open-Meteo, Kassel (51.3°N 9.5°E)
3% / 141.5 W/m²
Cloud cover / Radiation
384
gCO₂/kWh
Image prompt
Brown coal 11.3 GW dominates the left third of the scene as a cluster of massive hyperbolic cooling towers with thick white-grey steam plumes rising into a dusk sky; natural gas 5.3 GW appears centre-left as compact CCGT plants with slender exhaust stacks emitting thin vapour trails; hard coal 4.8 GW sits beside them as a dark industrial complex with conveyor belts and a single large chimney; solar 6.5 GW fills the centre-right as vast fields of aluminium-framed crystalline silicon panels catching the last orange-red rays of a setting sun; wind onshore 6.6 GW occupies the right third as a line of three-blade turbines on lattice towers turning slowly on a gentle ridge; biomass 4.5 GW appears as a medium-sized wood-chip CHP plant with a modest smokestack near the coal complex; hydro 1.1 GW is a small dam and reservoir glimpsed in a valley in the far background; wind offshore 0.3 GW is barely visible as tiny turbines on the distant horizon line. The sky is a rapidly fading dusk: a band of deep orange-red along the low western horizon transitioning to darkening steel-blue and indigo above, nearly cloudless with only 3% cloud cover showing a few wispy cirrus strands catching the last light. The atmosphere feels heavy and oppressive despite the clear sky, reflecting 145.6 EUR/MWh pricing — a brooding, thick haze clings low around the industrial stacks. Vegetation is early spring: pale green buds on bare-branched deciduous trees, fresh grass beginning to emerge at 13.6°C. Painted as a highly detailed oil painting in the tradition of 19th-century German Romantic landscape painters — rich saturated colour, visible confident brushwork, deep atmospheric perspective — with meticulous engineering accuracy on every turbine nacelle, PV panel frame, cooling tower curvature, and CCGT exhaust detail. No text, no labels.
Grid data: 22 March 2026, 17:00 (Berlin time) · Generated 2026-03-22T18:08 UTC · Download image