An article over at the Economist sums up the obstacles facing offshore wind in Germany fairly well, as a comparison with recent forecasts reveals. But while the report is well researched and accurate, Craig Morris says it nonetheless misses the point by taking offshore wind to be a crucial part of the Energiewende.
Year: 2013
Citizen ownership of grids
On July 5, the German government signed an agreement with the country’s four transit grid operators for citizens to invest in grid expansion. But as Craig Morris explains, not everyone is happy.
The laws of nature are immutable, not the laws of man
How do America’s future environmentalists view Germany’s energy transition? Craig Morris recently spent a day with a group of students from the US and found some things encouraging, others not.
The American West and the Energiewende
Could the German Energiewende be a blueprint for the United States? Jonathan Thompson recommends to learn from the German experience and realize that the transition makes sense not only environmentally, but also economically.
German smart market begins
On July 1, the market for lower power consumption rollout in Germany, with firms now being paid to reduce their consumption. Craig Morris provides an overview.
French labor union calls for energy transition
Just a few weeks after complaining about how French labor unions don’t support renewables, Craig Morris now gets to eat his hat. He says he’s glad to do so if it helps get the word out that France’s energy transition will create more than 600,000 jobs by 2030.
Storing excess nuclear and fossil power
Under a recent blog post here, numerous readers commented that green gas could be made from electricity when the price on the power exchange is low or even negative. Craig Morris says that is exactly what will happen – it’s just not “green gas.”
The Poor are not suffering from Energiewende but from poverty
The Energiewende has recently received a lot of international media attention for its perceived inequity and rising costs to the private consumer. While costs for electricity might be rising in the short term, the overall effects for consumers are much smaller than one would assume reading the reports. Luckily, German civil society is not falling for efforts to discredit the Energiewende, argues Alexander Franke.
EEX opposes capacity markets and supports marketing green power
The power exchange in Leipzig, Germany, has published a position paper on the Energiewende in German. Craig Morris sums up the main points.
Time to put renewable energy initiatives centre stage in the Netherlands
Renewable energies play a minor role in politics and media of the Netherlands. While local initiatives have the potential to lead the way, the country and its economy are still built around fossil fuels. Suzanne Schenk compares the situation to Germany and demands a policy plan with not only more ambitious specified goals for 2050 but also for 2030.