There goes January! The first month of 2026 has passed, and it was a month with more sun than average for a January. However, we also had snow, so unfortunately on some days the sunshine we had was of little use, as the panels were covered in a thick layer of white powder.

According to the KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute), the number of sunshine hours reached 75, compared to a long-term average of 68 hours. The coast once again enjoyed the most sunshine whereas inland areas lagged behind.

Electricity price low, gas price up

When it comes to batteries, the month wasn't ideal for trading on the EPEX market prices: the highest and lowest daily rates were not that far apart on most days. This may be due to the wind: it was very windy in January, which resulted in a lot of wind energy being fed into the grid, thanks in part to new offshore wind farms.

This large amount of wind power had a dampening effect on prices. The average base electricity price for the month was a modest 10.8 cents per kWh, which, despite the cold (because it certainly was cold!), was lower than in January 2025. The cold also caused gas prices to start creeping up again. Gas had become increasingly cheaper in recent years, but has become more expensive in the past few months. Reserves are running low, and with the cold unfortunately persisting, prices go up.

We're all more than ready for some warmer temperatures, aren't we? Even our cheerful installers who go out on roofs in all kinds of weather have had their fill of frozen fingers and toes by now. Let's hope it gets warmer and sunnier soon, and that we can fully enjoy solar power and milder temperatures!