Preliminary figures show that 2014 was a record year for wind power in Germany. Craig Morris says the performance will unfortunately be hard to repeat.
All posts tagged: Bavaria
Energiewende movers: the federal states
Much of the success of the German energy transition depends on the support of the country’s 16 federal states. A new study shows which German federal states are leading and which are slowing down the development of renewable energy. Komila Nabiyeva summarizes the findings.
A small town in Germany becomes a testing ground for a smart grid
In the 1990s, the small Bavarian town of Wildpoldsried decided to embrace renewables. Today, it produces several times the energy it consumes and has become a testing ground for future smart grid technologies, as Laurie Guevara-Stone notes.
Germany’s excess generation capacity
Over the past decade, German power firms made considerable investments in new conventional capacity. At the same time, German SMEs, energy cooperatives, and ordinary citizens made considerable investments in renewable generation capacity. The result is excess capacity. Craig Morris takes a look at some of the country’s energy experts who did not see this outcome coming.
E.ON threatens premature closure of nuclear plant
One common question from pro-nuclear Energiewende critics is what Germany would look like today if it had not switched off 40 percent of its nuclear capacity in 2011. In recent weeks, we have gotten a taste of the answer: massive voluntary shutdowns of coal and nuclear. Craig Morris investigates.
Seehofer Shifts on Südlink
CSU party leader and Bavarian Minister-President Horst Seehofer’s sudden about-face on Südlink, the planned long-distance transmission corridor for renewable energy running through his state, is little more than political pandering to cosmetic concerns without accounting for long-term needs.
Energy democracy in danger
Recently, our blogger Craig Morris stated that both coalition parties have capable proponents of renewables, but he only mentioned one from the Social Democrats. He says he left out the conservative CDU/CSU intentionally – because he was saving the best for last.
German Energy Politics Remain Challenging After Federal Election Results 2013
Angela Merkel is the big winner of yesterday’s federal election in Germany. Yet, forming a government will not be a simple task. Matthias Lang gives a first outlook on the process of coalition negotiations in the coming weeks and what the possible results might mean for the Energiewende in the coming years.
With Citizen Buy-in, German Village Generates 5X Renewable Energy It Needs
Why does the Energiewende enjoy such widespread acceptance in Germany? Sara Peach went to Wildpoldsried and found that when citizens can invest in local renewable installations, everybody reaps the economic benefits of the energy transition.
German nuclear plants and the flood
For the second time in 11 years, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria have experienced a “once-in-a-century flood.” Craig Morris takes a look at how nuclear plants in the area are faring.