Folk Ingenuity Under the Spectacle: The Colander Becomes a Top Viewing Tool
On the evening of August 12, 2026, a rare total solar eclipse passed over Europe, with its viewing path stretching across a vast area from Spain to the United Kingdom. In places like Regent’s Park and Parliament Hill in London, and the Champ de Mars in Paris, millions of people gathered to witness this astronomical wonder.
With specialized eclipse glasses sold out in advance, Europeans showcased remarkable creativity. On social media, “#ColanderEclipse” became a trending hashtag. Many in the UK used kitchen colanders as viewing devices—turning their backs to the sun and letting its rays pass through the holes to project dozens of tiny crescent-shaped eclipse images onto a white sheet or the ground, demonstrating the pinhole camera effect. The gaps between tree leaves also acted as natural pinhole projectors. Astronomical experts endorsed these indirect methods, repeatedly warning the public against looking directly at the sun, even with multiple pairs of sunglasses, to prevent severe retinal damage. Meanwhile, police issued urgent safety warnings as some drivers illegally stopped on motorways to take pictures.
A Major Energy Test: The 9.7 GW Shock to the Power Grid
This celestial event triggered a “silent earthquake” in Europe’s power system. As the Moon obscured the Sun, photovoltaic (PV) generation across the European grid experienced a steep decline. According to data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), between 19:15 and 21:30 that day, the continent’s solar power output instantly fell by approximately 9.7 gigawatts (GW).
The scale of this 9.7 GW drop is immense, equivalent to nine large nuclear power plants going offline at once, and capable of affecting the electricity needs of millions of households. The French grid operator, RTE, estimated a drop of about 1.8 GW in its solar power output, representing 3% of the nation’s total generation. Meanwhile, the grids in Spain and Germany, with their higher levels of eclipse obscurity and significant solar installations, faced even more severe instantaneous fluctuations.
A Climate Clash: Heatwaves and Water Shortages Exacerbate the Power Crisis
Under normal circumstances, the grid could have comfortably handled the eclipse-induced drop in solar power. However, an extreme heatwave sweeping Europe in the summer of 2026 had already pushed the power system to a vulnerable point. Temperatures recently soared to 42.3°C in Corsica, France, and 45°C in Sardinia, Italy.
The prolonged heatwave caused water levels in many European rivers to drop and temperatures to rise, severely hampering the output of conventional power plants. In France, six nuclear reactors had to be shut down or powered down due to cooling water problems. Romania’s Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant and Hungary’s only nuclear station significantly reduced output as Danube River levels became critical. Hydropower and gas-fired plants along Italy’s Po River also ceased operations. In this extreme scenario of supply-demand imbalance, the European spot electricity market saw wild price swings. The real-time price in France briefly topped €268 per MWh, while Belgium’s evening peak price skyrocketed to €1,038 per MWh.
Well-Prepared: How the European Grid Successfully Passed the Test
The reason the European grid did not collapse under the dual pressure of the solar power plunge and the heat-induced water shortage was its high level of preparation and coordination. As a completely predictable astronomical event, the eclipse provided system operators with ample time to prepare. ENTSO-E had already formed a special task force to coordinate national action plans and had canceled all non-essential grid maintenance during the eclipse.
Moreover, the European grid drew on historical experience. During the solar eclipse of March 20, 2015, Europe’s solar power output fluctuated by nearly 35 GW, and that real-world test allowed control systems to develop sophisticated response strategies. Although the EU’s total installed solar capacity had grown to 406 GW by 2026—accounting for 13% of the total power mix—meticulous cross-border dispatching and the timely intervention of backup power sources ensured that the European grid smoothly passed this ‘open-book test’.
