An article over at the Economist sums up the obstacles facing offshore wind in Germany fairly well, as a comparison with recent forecasts reveals. But while the report is well researched and accurate, Craig Morris says it nonetheless misses the point by taking offshore wind to be a crucial part of the Energiewende.
All posts tagged: Grid
Citizen ownership of grids
On July 5, the German government signed an agreement with the country’s four transit grid operators for citizens to invest in grid expansion. But as Craig Morris explains, not everyone is happy.
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.
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.
PV + battery storage not affordable in foreseeable future
A new study by German think tank Agora Energiewende looks into what solar power with storage would need to cost to be competitive with other optimized growth scenarios. Craig Morris says the findings need to be heeded.
What Americans think about Germany’s energy transition
In May, Rainer Baake and Jennifer Morgan published an article at Bloomberg recommending German renewables policy to Americans. Craig Morris found the reader comments especially interesting, both in what was said and what was completely left out.
Focused capacity markets or strategic reserve?
Green politician Oliver Kischer has published a critique of the proposals being tossed about for a new power market design, and he comes down heavily in favor of focused capacity markets. Craig Morris takes a look at the reasoning.
The Battle over Electricity: Part II
Paul Hockenos recently sat down to interview energy and environment expert Claudia Kemfert. Kemfert, who is no spokesperson for the Greens or anyone else, argues that the naysayers are not shooting straight but rather have armed themselves with spurious arguments, low-ball populism, and outright lies. This is the second part of a two part series.
EU: Don’t Cut Smart Grid Money!
While the picture being painted of gains in climate action spending is rosy, those who’ve read the fine print of the budget negotiations know the reality: in order to further bloat agricultural subsidies, European Union leaders have made deep cuts to clean energy infrastructure development funds that will be felt continent-wide for decades to come. Paul Hockenos takes a look.
The German Energy Transition and its Neighbors – Part 1
Germany has been criticized for the impact of its energy transition on Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, all of which charge that uncontrolled surges in renewables are destabilizing their grids and/or reducing the profitability of conventional power firms. As part of a four-part series, Craig Morris discusses a recent study on this matter conducted by the German Institute of Applied Ecology (Oeko-Institut).