Trying to give you a few quick updates this morning.
Perhaps, at times, there is too much of a good thing. Germany is an industrial giant that has transitioned beautifully to renewables and embracing the new, green economy. They are well on their way to 100% renewables. Yet, this is clearly a bump in the road. We can't change the fundamental economics of energy--suppliers getting paid for their power--and expect to have lasting systems. Getting a glut, and seeing consumers enjoy financial benefits, is not productive.
Utilities and grids facing some daunting challenges of building smart and micro grids and clean energy systems that deliver dependable electricity while giving the market back reasonable returns. We've seen wind turned off in Iowa, at times, because of too little demand. We love efficiency and the goals of substantially driving down consumption. But, we don't want to leave providers out in the cold. We have too much riding on this historic industrial revolution as we migrate forever, we hope, away from fossil fuels.
Germany Had So Much Renewable Energy It Had to Pay Customers to Use It
Power prices went negative for a few hours, paying industrial consumers
Renewable energy generation hit a high in Germany Sunday, with commercial power consumers being paid to use electricity for a few hours.
Around midday the country’s wind, solar, hydro and biomass plants were supplying 87% of the power being consumed in Germany, according to a report by Quartz.
Germany’s renewable energy mix was 33% last year and is expected to climb this year due to new wind power generation, as the country looks to convert to 100% renewable energy by 2050.
The power surplus may have been good for consumers, but power suppliers suffered, according to Quartz. While some gas power plants were taken offline, other plants—such as nuclear and coal—couldn’t shut down as quickly, so industrial customers were earning money as they used electricity.
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