NO2 has changed how it trades electricity across the day during summer.
It now imports during daylight hours, when continental Europe is flooded with cheap solar power, and exports during the evening.
Midday Imports Have Grown
Before the opening of NordLink to Germany and North Sea Link to Great Britain in 2021, midday imports during summer were close to zero.
Now, midday imports exceed 1 TWh, while exports during summer daytime have decreased.
The 1 TWh is not really “saved water”. NO2 is still a net exporter, even though exports have been lower in summer 2026 than in recent summers.
But the timing has changed.
Water is increasingly held back during the daytime and released during the evening.
Solar Is Changing NO2’s Trading Pattern
Cheap continental solar power increasingly flows into NO2 during daylight hours. Later in the day, as solar generation falls and European prices rise, NO2 switches back to exporting.
The chart shows measured hourly flows across all NO2 interconnectors, netted per hour and summed by daytime versus evening and night.
The data is freely available through the Volt Power Analytics API.
