By 2030, Germany will gradually no longer have to pay for its most expensive solar arrays installed at the beginning of this decade. But the power will probably still be generated. Craig Morris investigates the probable impact.
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Will onshore wind farm owners be told they can’t rebuild?
In a recent study, Berlin-based think tank Agora Energiewende estimated future cost impact of renewable electricity in Germany. One of the assumptions deserves more attention: the shrinking of net onshore wind growth. Craig Morris investigates.
The cost burden of offshore wind
A recent paper by Berlin-based think tank Agora Energiewende finds that Germany is paying now for cost reductions in the future. While other countries can expect rising power costs, German costs will stabilize and then begin to drop in the 2030s. Craig Morris explains.
Zero German coal plants as a reaction to Fukushima
Reading headlines like “Germany’s nuclear cutback is darkening European skies” makes Craig Morris despair over the state of journalism.
German power bills are low compared to US average
In 2015, the average German household power bill fell slightly from 85 euros to 84 euros per month. What’s more, that level is relatively low compared to US averages. But Craig Morris says comparisons are not easy.
Electricity market design: Will demand react to variations in power supply?
Traditionally, power production has followed demand. Due to the growth of renewable power production, it is increasingly becoming lucrative to actively manage demand to profit from fluctuating power prices. Benjamin Bayer reports about first experiences with demand response in the US and explains how the regulatory framework needs to change in Germany.
The future of utilities: extinction or re-invention? A transatlantic perspective
In her recent paper published by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, energy expert Susanne Fratzscher, identifies seven transformative trends that utilities in the US and Germany will have to face in the coming years. Susanne goes on to outline models that will likely help this transatlantic utility transformation to succeed. Here is a summary of her findings.
Ambiguous Russian climate pledge mystifies many
Russia has submitted its climate goals to the UN. A close analysis reveals the shortcomings of the contribution, especially in regards to the role of forestry, as Sophie Yeo and Dr. Simon Evans explain.
What developing countries are learning from the Energiewende
Solar twice as expensive in US as in Germany
What difference does policy make? Craig Morris says that a comparison of the low prices for installed solar arrays in Germany with more expensive arrays in the US is a good way to start answering that question.