As the saying goes, everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it. One grid analyst recently told a German grid operator it was time to take action. Craig Morris investigates.
All posts tagged: Grid
German grid more stable in 2013
It’s bad news for the folks insisting that renewables are wreaking havoc on the grid – last year, the average number of minutes of power outages in Germany fell below the already leading level of 2012 and below the average over the past seven years. Craig Morris looks into the situation.
Are US industry power prices that much lower than Germany’s?
Two German research organizations have investigated claims that low US power prices might entice German firms to relocate. As Craig Morris reports, they found a mixed bag of enticements without a clear signal that German firms should leave.
Re-Municipalization in Boulder and Hamburg: Similarities and Differences
Both Boulder and Hamburg are remunicipalizing their grid. What do the two cases have in common? How far did the specific national context help or impede the efforts to buy back the grid? In the final part of our series, Charleen Fei and Ian Rinehart compare the two cities and the conditions for their success.
The Fight for the Grid in Boulder
In a historic vote, Boulder, Colorado, remunicipalized its energy provider. Charleen Fei and Ian Rinehart explain whether this is part of a broader trend and what differentiates Boulder from other American cities fighting for control over municipal utilities.
Feed-in tariffs – a policy for the future?
The Heinrich Böll Foundation, which also hosts this website, recently produced a 132-page study (PDF) entitled “Energiewende 2.0” on the future of Germany’s energy transition. In a recent post, Craig Morris summarized the findings. Today, he has a bone to pick with its portrayal of feed-in tariffs.
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.
Autoproduction to get around the EEG?
The French call it “autoproduction”; the Germans, “own consumption.” Whatever you call it, it’s becoming more popular, which may be why the German government wants to have it cover the cost of the transition as well. Craig Morris says recent policy proposals constitute an about-face and warns against stop-and-go policy support.
What future role for today’s utilities?
We live in an age of quickly changing business models, and the trend is clearly towards Big Box megastores – to the detriment of mom-and-pop shops. But Craig Morris says the energy sector is shaping up to go in the opposite direction.
Intermittent or variable?
Wind and solar power are often considered unreliable, especially by their detractors. But Craig Morris recently realized he needed to change his terminology – after learning how intermittent conventional power plants are.