Saturday, January 23, 2021

Getting to zero carbon in Germany

 From a Twitter thread by Philipp Litz:


Germany plans on going climate neutral by 2050 the latest. Most of the electricity produced will come from wind and solar. But what is the strategy on keeping the lights on, when there is no wind and sun, and coal, natural gas, or oil plants will be phased out?

First: There will still be plenty of dispatchable capacity. However, these will not be nuclear, coal or classic natural gas power plants, but primarily small, decentralized gas units that are operated with (green) hydrogen.


Second: Pump and battery storage (both stationary and mobile in cars) are becoming increasingly important. They store excess electricity in times of high wind and PV generation and make it available when it is needed. In addition, traditional demand is becoming more flexible.



Third: The European electricity market will grow even closer together than today. This means you can take advantage of balancing effects of renewable energy generation. Also, sharing backup capacities makes it cheaper for everybody.




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