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.
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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.
Obama’s Climate Moment in Berlin
Last week, Barack Obama came to visit Berlin. American journalist Osha Gray Davidson argues that the US can learn a lot from Germany’s energy policies: Its impacts are already visible from the Reichstag in Berlin to the smallest village.
The sweet spot of electric mobility
All eyes are on Tesla as the only car company that is currently making money on all-electric vehicles. Nonetheless, Craig Morris thinks Tesla is coming at the issue from the wrong end.
Germany takes the first step toward a supergrid
If the Energiewende is to succeed, the electricity grid needs to adapt to the flexible load and necessary transmission of renewables. David Roberts gives an overview about the challenges, policies and future of the grid in Germany.
Power to gas – when will it be competitive?
In the long run, Germany will need seasonal storage of solar power from the summer for the winter. German researchers are banking on “power to gas” (P2G). Craig Morris takes a look at how far away we are.
A roadmap for the energy transition
Last December, the IFEU Institute of Heidelberg co-published a roadmap for the Energiewende. Martin Pehnt, a co-author of this website, helped direct the project. Craig Morris says the ideas are quite practical.