Eclipse to put unprecedented strain on Europe's power grid

Frankfurt

THE eclipse due to bring most of Europe into deep shadows on Friday morning will put an unprecedented strain on the electricity grid, which takes power from the world's biggest concentration of solar panels.

The moon will cross in front of the sun, blocking about 80 per cent of its light across Europe from 8am to 11am London time. In Germany, the eclipse will briefly turn off thousands of panels, which provide about 40 per cent of the nation's power on the most sunny days.