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Wind generation slumped 30% in 2021 due to the minor detail of the wind being unpredictable and unreliable and they had to make up for the deficit through hydro

Wind generation slumped 30% in 2021 due to the minor detail of the wind being unpredictable and unreliable and they had to make up for the deficit through hydrocarbon. Sure, saying "gas" which is more peaker power plants instead of "coal" which helps baseload generation may be wrong, but let's not ignore the reality that wind experienced rare seasonal lows and the only replacement was burning more coal than ever. https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1737041/wind-generated-electricity-germany-slumps-new-low-2021 https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1737041/wind-genera... https://www.dw.com/en/germany-coal-tops-wind-as-primary-electricity-source/a-59168105 https://www.dw.com/en/germany-coal-tops-wind-as-primary-elec... The reality of relying on things like wind is that you have to either over-produce, or have a backup, and the backup is usually coal. If Nuclear plants had not been unnecessarily shuttered, Germany would be more prepared to weather the weather, instead of increasing coal burning significantly.

VaxWithSex 5y ago
Wind generation is perfectly predictable. It is just volatile. But with enough storage (electrolyze it to hydrogen, then burn it in the gas plants), you can save the generated surplus for days without wind (and solar). Additionally, new German homes are required, by law, to be build in a way that will not use 1. Gas for Heating 2. a lot of energy at all. Additionally local energy storage and production in homes is encourgaged with 45% of funding coming from the German state.
tialaramex 5y ago
It's wrong to characterise gas as "peaker plants", the UK has an enormous fleet of CCGT that would once have seemed like an obvious fit for baseload, but today they ramp maybe from 10% to 90% performing the same function as the Open Cycle turbines in a "peaker plant". Coal normally makes no sense to back wind, which is why Britain has been shutting coal plants while building ever more wind farms.

VaxWithSex 5y ago

Wind generation is perfectly predictable. It is just volatile. But with enough storage (electrolyze it to hydrogen, then burn it in the gas plants), you can save the generated surplus for days without wind (and solar). Additionally, new German homes are required, by law, to be build in a way that will not use 1. Gas for Heating 2. a lot of energy at all. Additionally local energy storage and production in homes is encourgaged with 45% of funding coming from the German state.

tialaramex 5y ago

It's wrong to characterise gas as "peaker plants", the UK has an enormous fleet of CCGT that would once have seemed like an obvious fit for baseload, but today they ramp maybe from 10% to 90% performing the same function as the Open Cycle turbines in a "peaker plant". Coal normally makes no sense to back wind, which is why Britain has been shutting coal plants while building ever more wind farms.