While the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is now established as a global voice for renewable energies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is coming under increased pressure to modernise. Sybille Röhrkasten explains.
All posts tagged: Germany
Germany aims to plug hole in energy transition
Germany produces more power from renewable energies than ever, yet pushing dirty lignite out of the power market has proven to be a contentious issue. Steve Baragona summarizes the social, political and economic hurdles currently delaying a coal phase-out.
Wind power ties for #1 electricity source in November
[UPDATE] Record wind power production put German wind farms in the pole position last month, though critics will still complain that two types of coal counted separately should be counted together. By Craig Morris.
Coal, Renewables Battle for Power in Germany
Germany’s Energiewende has been driven first and foremost by citizens and communities. Steve Baragona visited a small community threatened by an open-pit coal mine in Eastern Germany and found that the local struggles reflect the broader battle that is currently underway for the future of the German power system.
Social acceptance is the invisible barrier for wind power in Mexico
In Mexico, wind power could play a central role in the country’s future power mix. Unfortuantely, the technocratic top-down approach chosen by the country in order to deploy the technology has lowered social acceptance. Juan Mayorga suggests to look to Germany for a different, more democratic model of wind power development that takes local stakeholders seriously and allows local financial participation.
The new Coal Atlas
Friends of the Earth International and the Heinrich Böll Foundation (which runs this website) have joined forces to produce an international version of the Coal Atlas originally published in German earlier this year. Craig Morris reports.
Renewable power curtailment skyrockets in Germany
The German Network Agency has published an overview of power curtailment in 2014. While the level has reached a new high, it is still in line with what is normal in other countries. Craig Morris takes a look.
What the US Keystone protests and the German nuclear phase-out have in common
People who want to change the world need to understand why some campaigns are successful while others aren’t. One US commentator has investigated the Keystone campaign’s success in this respect. The overlapping with the German nuclear phase-out is salient. By Craig Morris.
If Germany had four times more solar…
Germany is the country with the most photovoltaics installed worldwide. A new study now says that solar in combination with batteries would allow a lot more PV to be installed. Craig Morris says the investigation confirms his worst fears.
German power exports more valuable than imports
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) has added a new section on power trading to its Energy Charts website. Craig Morris says it dispels the myth that Germany is dumping excess renewable electricity on neighboring countries at low prices.