France becomes top net power exporter in Europe

This article was first published on EnAppSys, which is now part of Montel Energy.

France overtakes Sweden as leading net power exporter

France overtook Sweden to become Europe’s largest net exporter of electricity during the first half of 2023. The report outlines the value of imports and exports in Europe over this period, showing France’s total net exports reached 17.6 TWh, with most of the power flowing to Great Britain (8 TWh) and Italy (9 TWh).

Nuclear recovery fuels France’s export surge

Jean-Paul Harreman, director at EnAppSys BV, explained the turnaround:

“The cause for the increase of exports in France versus the previous year was an increased availability of the country’s nuclear assets. Although availability is still 10–15% lower than normal, the increase in capacity of between 5 and 10 GW versus last year helped to flip the French energy balance to export again.”

He added:

“As cheaper generation became available to the French market, it started exporting to GB again. The price differential ensured that cheaper power flowed from France to Britain.”

Sweden holds second place with steady exports

Sweden remained the second highest net exporter, maintaining stable levels with 14.6 TWh of power sent to other countries during the same period.

Spain surpasses Germany as third top exporter

Spain rose to the third spot with 8.8 TWh in net exports, overtaking Germany. The jump was powered by favourable gas prices and rapid expansion of renewables.

Germany moves from exporter to importer

Germany’s shift from net exporter in Q1 to net importer in Q2 was primarily due to nuclear plant closures.

“Meanwhile, in Germany, the closure of nuclear power plants was the main reason why the energy balance flipped from export in the first quarter to import in the second quarter,” said Harreman.
“These closures meant that Germany sourced additional power from other countries in periods of low renewable generation, as other markets provided power at lower prices than unused generation assets in Germany.”

Market coupling drives cross-border electricity flows

Electricity imports and exports in Europe are largely determined by market coupling:

“Imports and exports are the result of market coupling among European electricity markets, with cross-border connections limiting the amount of power that can flow from one country to another,” Harreman noted.
“The objective is to optimise welfare across the continent. Except for borders that are not automatically coupled, parties acting on day-ahead markets do not actively choose to import or export.”

Bosnia tops export share relative to demand

When viewed as a percentage of domestic demand, Bosnia led all countries, exporting 44.8% of its power generation.

Gabor Szatmari, territory manager for Central and Eastern Europe at EnAppSys, said:

“Bulgarian exports declined because the country’s lignite production got priced out of the merit order by broader European gas production, due to falling gas prices in Europe since August 2022.
In the case of Bosnia, the total hydro production doubled from H2 2022 to H1 2023 and around 87% of that additional production was exported to other countries.”

Italy remains Europe’s largest net importer

Italy continued to be the biggest net importer in the first six months of 2023, bringing in 25.9 TWh of electricity. Of this, 9.9 TWh came through Switzerland and 9.5 TWh through France.

With France surging and Germany importing, Europe's energy dynamics are shifting fast. Market coupling and renewables will shape the future of EU power flows.