We are solving the wrong problem.
Europe does not have an energy supply problem. It has a demand problem. And that distinction changes everything about what policy should do next.
Wind parks are being switched off. Not because the wind stopped. Because the grid cannot absorb what they produce. Solar farms are curtailed. Nuclear stations run below capacity. Wholesale electricity prices go negative across Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands — the grid literally paying to offload power nobody is using.
We built the supply. We forgot to build the demand.
Meanwhile EV production lines run below capacity because orders aren't there. Heat pump manufacturers have spare capacity. Battery factories sit underutilised. Investment decisions across the electrification supply chain are being deferred — because the demand signal isn't strong enough.
Supply takes years to build. Demand can be created this week.
A household that gets a heat pump this month stops buying gas this month. Permanently. An EV on the road this week starts absorbing off-peak wind this week. A battery installed today captures negative-price electricity tonight.
And right now is the best possible moment. Spring. European wind and solar at seasonal peak. Heating demand falling. Surplus at its annual maximum. Wholesale prices at their lowest. The gap between what the system produces and what it absorbs is wider today than at any other point in the year.
That gap is not a market failure. It is an invitation.
Decisions, unlike wind farms, can be made overnight.