Energiewendeand Green Energy in GermanyBy Jake “Johann” Dec

Headlines (2011-2012) Germany Produced 60% More Solar Energy in

2011 Germany — 26% of Electricity from Renewable

Energy in 1st Half of 2012 Germany Is Showing The World How To Become A

Renewable Energy Powerhouse (2012) Germany Sets New Solar Record By Meeting

Nearly Half of Country's Weekend Power Demand Half of Germany’s Renewable Energy is (Still)

Locally Owned (2012)

Headlines (2013) Germans Revolt Against Germany's

Green Energy Revolution Green Power Gridlock: Why Renewable

Energy Is No Alternative Germany’s ‘green energy revolution’

costing billions Green Energy Bust in Germany Siemens to close solar power business

after $1bn loss

Outline Goals of the Energiewende Renewable Energy Differences from US Cities in Germany Growth of Green Energy Production Storage Pollution Industry Conclusions

Energiewende Without increasing taxes, increase the amount

energy production from renewable sources. Research and development of green technology Become a world leader in green industry Reduce the CO2 emissions (2011)Close all nuclear plants and replace their

power production with renewables. Anti-Nuclear support in Germany has been present

for decades, beginning around the Chernobyl disaster in Russia

What is Renewable Energy? Energy harnessed through renewable

means: Solar Wind Geothermal Hydroelectric Biomass

Solar/Wind By implementing feed-in-tariffs,

Germany hoped to have residents install solar systems before they were practical.

Succeeded in dropping the price of solar panels.

Germany has about 4x the total solar capacity of the US (~20x per capita)*

Wind energy production is steadily increasing in Germany

How Does This Differ From US? Over 50% of green energy production in

Germany is by individual or small co-ops In many areas of Germany, citizens

have invested their own money in renewable projects, earning returns on the investments (NIMBY)

Because of feed-ins and subsidies, investors are guaranteed at least a 7-10% return on investment.

Feldheim Small town of 150 people 43 wind turbines and 37

houses. Gets all of its power and

heat from renewable energy Residents paid €3000 each

to create their own energy grid. Reduced their costs by 30%.

Over 3000 people a year visit, though it can’t be used as a model everywhere.

Freiburg As many as 50% of the rooftops have

solar panels. Citizens are committed stakeholders in

the process “Passive House”: cost 10% more to

build, but reduces heating costs by 90%

Growth of Renewables in Germany.

Misleading Figures Nameplate Capacity: The amount of energy that a

power generation method can create under ideal conditions

While wind and solar nameplate capacity represented 84 percent of Germany’s average electric power generation, it generated only 11.9 percent of total electricity

Different methods of every production have vastly different efficiency: Solar: ~10% Wind: ~20% Coal: ~80% or more Nuclear 90%+

Insolation Map

Wind Speed Map

24/7 Production Since solar and wind power do not

produce energy 24/7, ways must be developed to overcome decreased wind and solar production.

There are two major ways to solve this problem: Energy storage Increase 24/7 production methods

Storage Power-to-Gas: Converting excess

electricity to hydrogen or methane gas. Pumping water uphill (hydroelectric in

reverse)

Feed-in-Tariffs make these storage solutions financially unviable, as these company's need to pay for the electricity before they can store it.

Increasing 24/7 Production In 2012 Germany commissioned twice as

much energy through coal than wind and solar combined.

2/3 of the planned new energy production by 2020 involve new gas or coal plants.

Even if Germany increased its wind and solar capacity by 10 times, it still would only produce 1/3 of the energy needed over slower periods.

Pollution in Germany The closing of the 8 nuclear plants in

Germany created a shortage of baseline production.

In response, Germany delayed the closing or reopened outdated brown coal plants.

CO2 emissions from coal have increased 5% in 2012

The Cost of Electricity (kw/hr) RI 6.567 cents (Dec 2013)

US Average: 8 to 17 cents (Sep 2012)

France 19.39 cents (Nov 2011)

United Kingdom: 20 cents (Nov 2012)

Germany 36.25 cents (May 2013)

Mandatory 7.3 cent tax

“Germany's Solar Industry Is Imploding” Because of competition from China,

Germany’s largest solar panel producers have shut down.

China grew from almost zero exports to 80% of the EU solar panel market in just 3 years, fueling a trade dispute.

While the trade dispute was settled in July 2013, the damage was already done to German solar panel producers

Conclusions Heavy subsidies have over incentivized solar

energy (57% of the energy tax is used to pay feed-in-tariffs for solar)

Prioritizing renewables on the grid will cause newer, cleaner coal and gas plants to be unprofitable, causing construction of dirty more polluting coal plants.

Knee-jerk reaction to the Fukishima disaster threw Germanys energy balance off, rolling back reductions in CO2 emissions.

Increased competition from abroad left Germanys solar panel industry weakened. Solar panel prices have dropped 80% since 2008, cutting into profit margins.

Takeaways Smaller scale energy production by individuals

or co-ops reduce NIMBY We don’t need huge solar or wind farms to

generate power. The most beneficial places for solar and wind in

the US are not geographically the best places for it

If we do want to rely on solar and wind for the majority of energy production, we have to invest in energy storage methods

Even without feed-in-tariffs, solar energy is near the point of parity with grid power.

Insolation Map

Works Cited Axthelm, Wolfram. Annual balance for wind energy generated in 2012.

German Wind Energy Association. N.p., 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. Basic Residential (A-16) Electricity Rates. National Grid. N.p., n.d. Web. 4

Dec. 2013. Boisvert, Will. "Green Energy Bust in Germany." Dissent Summer 2013: 62-

70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. Chaffin, Joshua. "EU and China Settle Trade Fight over Solar Panels."

Financial Times. Financial Times, 27 July 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. "Cost of Solar Is 2–100 Times Cheaper than You Think." Cost of Solar. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. "Electricity Pricing." Wikipedia. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Wikipedia. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. McGrath, Matt. "German tariffs make green energy too expensive to store."

BBC News. BBC, 11 July 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. Rayasam, Renuka. "A Power Grid of Their Own: German Village Becomes

Model for Renewable Energy." Spiegel Online. N.p., 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

Spiegel Staff. "Germany's Energy Poverty: How Electricity Became a Luxury Good." Spiegel Online. Spiegel, 4 Sept. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

"10 Amazing Green Cities." Howstuffworks.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

Questions?