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Germany had the one big chance to switch to Carbon free by combining renewables with nuclear for no wind/no sun periods. Ironically the "Green" party blew it d

by baxtr 2y ago

Germany had the one big chance to switch to Carbon free by combining renewables with nuclear for no wind/no sun periods. Ironically the "Green" party blew it due to ideological reasons, so now they’re burning coal and gas instead and import nuclear from France/Benelux.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
From the piece: > More electricity was generated in Germany in the third quarter than in the previous year. Renewable energies alone are responsible for this growth. > While the increase in electricity production from solar energy and wind power is also attributed by the Federal Statistical Office to favorable weather conditions, conventional energy sources continue to lose importance. With a share of 21.4 percent, coal is now only in third place, having been overtaken by photovoltaics. Electricity generation from natural gas has also fallen, with a combined total of 31.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated from both energy sources, compared to 34 billion kWh in the third quarter of 2023. > Finally, the statistics authority also states that Germany imported 2.2 percent more electricity in this period than in the previous year. Meanwhile, the amount of electricity exported rose by more than 19% to almost 12 billion kilowatt hours. This reduced the import surplus by 1.5 billion kilowatt hours. Overall, however, twice as much electricity was imported abroad as was exported. However, experts have repeatedly stated that this is merely a sign of a functioning European internal market and does not indicate dependency or a shortage. Keeping legacy nuclear around would've been nice, but we're passed the need for it. French interconnector is also at capacity [1] and it doesn't appear it's feasible to upgrade it within the next ~5 years, so soaking up more nuclear from France isn't really an option. Onward with the renewables ramp. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40720682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40720682
- baxtr 2y ago
  These are all aggregate numbers. Again: Renewables don’t work during no wind/no sun periods. During these periods Germany relies on coal, gas and imported nuclear. There is no real plan to change that.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]

by baxtr 2y ago

toomuchtodo 2y ago

From the piece: > More electricity was generated in Germany in the third quarter than in the previous year. Renewable energies alone are responsible for this growth. > While the increase in electricity production from solar energy and wind power is also attributed by the Federal Statistical Office to favorable weather conditions, conventional energy sources continue to lose importance. With a share of 21.4 percent, coal is now only in third place, having been overtaken by photovoltaics. Electricity generation from natural gas has also fallen, with a combined total of 31.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated from both energy sources, compared to 34 billion kWh in the third quarter of 2023. > Finally, the statistics authority also states that Germany imported 2.2 percent more electricity in this period than in the previous year. Meanwhile, the amount of electricity exported rose by more than 19% to almost 12 billion kilowatt hours. This reduced the import surplus by 1.5 billion kilowatt hours. Overall, however, twice as much electricity was imported abroad as was exported. However, experts have repeatedly stated that this is merely a sign of a functioning European internal market and does not indicate dependency or a shortage. Keeping legacy nuclear around would've been nice, but we're passed the need for it. French interconnector is also at capacity [1] and it doesn't appear it's feasible to upgrade it within the next ~5 years, so soaking up more nuclear from France isn't really an option. Onward with the renewables ramp. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40720682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40720682

baxtr 2y ago
These are all aggregate numbers. Again: Renewables don’t work during no wind/no sun periods. During these periods Germany relies on coal, gas and imported nuclear. There is no real plan to change that.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]