Germany counting on energy storage to support increasing renewables use
April 10, 2013 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
Germany exported more energy in 2012 than at any point over the previous five years in spite of the ongoing shutdown of all of its nuclear energy generation facilities thanks to the country's renewable energy industry. Renewable energy accounted for 23 percent of Germany's power usage in 2012 and 9.3 percent more energy generation than in 2011. However, this increase in renewable energy has come with challenges. One of the largest issues is storage of the seasonal surges in power produced by wind and solar facilities. "Distribution System Operators and energy companies are working feverishly on various new models and technologies to ensure the right amounts of energy get to the right places at the right times, as well as attempting to pre-empt looming new questions," said Tobias Rothacher, senior manager of Renewable Energies, Germany Trade & Invest, a foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency. "Renewables will displace non-renewable base load capacities more and more over the next few years, increasing the volatility of electricity prices and thus opening business cases for the implementation of storage, smart grid and demand side management technologies," he said. Research and development into battery facilities as a solution is ongoing. "We are planning to support the installation of battery systems which are installed along with a PV system," Rothacher told CleanEnergyAuthority.com. "The incentive is planned to consist of interest reduced loans form the state owned bank KfW as well as capex incentive on the purchase price." For more: © 2013 FierceMarkets. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com |