Editorial comment
On 12 August, parts of mainland Europe experienced their first total solar eclipse since 1999. Here in the UK, we didn’t experience totality, but the moon did cover up to 95% of the sun in certain regions and, with clear skies, it was quite the spectacle.
Register for free »
Get started now for absolutely FREE, no credit card required.
On the topic of spectacles – there was a shortage of solar eclipse glasses to safely enjoy the celestial event. There were reports of people queuing outside shops for hours to get their hands on a pair; after all, there won’t be a chance to see another near-total solar eclipse on British shores until 2081. But it wasn’t just glasses that were in short supply during the eclipse – the electricity system was under pressure too. The UK’s biggest energy supplier, Octopus Energy, had urged customers to use less electricity during the event to take the strain off the grid, warning that the eclipse would knock out “a huge chunk of Britain’s solar power”, with estimates suggesting that between 300 MW and 1100 MW of solar power could be lost, just as the UK experienced its fifth heatwave of the summer.
The issue was not necessarily the reduction in solar output itself, but the speed at which it happened. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) had to be prepared to respond to a rapid change in solar generation that would normally occur much more gradually as the sun sets. According to The Telegraph, NESO paid £6.2 million for additional electricity on the day, including premium rates to gas-fired power plants.1
While solar eclipses are exceptionally rare and entirely predictable events, they do provide a useful glimpse at a bigger challenge: flexibility. As countries add more intermittent renewable generation to their energy mix, they also need to be able to respond quickly to changes in supply and demand. Although solar eclipses may be unusual events, sudden changes in wind conditions, overcast weather, and extreme temperatures are not.
This has important implications for energy-intensive industries too. Refineries, gas processing plants, and petrochemical facilities depend on reliable supplies of electricity, steam, fuel, and cooling water to keep their operations running safely and reliably. As the energy system becomes more complex – and as extreme weather events become more common – operators face a twofold challenge: ensuring access to a flexible and reliable energy supply, while also making their own facilities more resilient to changing conditions.
This challenge is particularly apparent during periods of extreme heat. Heatwaves and drought have already disrupted refinery operations across parts of Europe this summer, while experts warn that extreme temperatures are likely to become an increasingly persistent problem. There are already concerns that 2027 is likely to be the hottest on record due to a combination of climate change and the strongest El Niño in living memory.2
The solar eclipse offered a brief but highly visible demonstration of the importance of flexibility. However, as the energy transition progresses and weather patterns become more volatile, reliable energy supplies and resilient operations will become increasingly critical to maintaining safe, efficient, and continuous production in the downstream sector.
- LEAKE, J., ‘Eclipse pushes Britain’s power bill to £6.2 million’, The Telegraph, (13 August 2026).
- RICH, B., and POYNTING, M., ‘El Niño set to be ‘strongest in living memory’, says Met Office’, BBC, (21 August 2026).
