Renewable energies: summer weather promoted records
The weather in Europe was not really "nice" at the beginning of June, but the summer weather of 2017 nevertheless brought with it one or two new records. On one June day, more electricity was generated from clean sources than from fossil fuels.
In June, people always have high expectations for summer weather. Really "nice" was not the weather in Europe at the beginning of June. Of course, the sun came out from time to time, but there was also a lot of rain and unusually strong winds. What was rather less pleasing to friends of outdoor activities was apparently a blessing for producers of renewable forms of energy - in several European countries at once.
Whether in the UK, Denmark or Germany, on one June day or another, specialized companies managed to generate more electricity from clean sources than from fossil fuels. In the UK, for example, it was possible to produce more electricity from clean sources than from coal and natural gas. The British invested heavily in wind power, with wind energy output accounting for 10 percent on the record day. In addition, there was solar power, hydropower and biomass.
Taken together, renewable energies thus achieved 50.7 percent of the necessary energy requirement. If nuclear energy is also added, the British ended up with an impressive 72.1 percent of CO2-neutral energy generation.
Current best in class
In Germany, things looked even better. At the beginning of June, there was a day on which 66 percent of electricity demand was covered by renewable sources. However, this is not a record in this country, as 85 percent had already been reached in April. Only Denmark did even better. In this Scandinavian country, the increased wind speeds resulted in peak energy generation. In a short period at the beginning of June, wind power plants, which also generate electricity for export, covered no less than 137 percent of the kingdom's total electricity requirements.
However, Denmark's green power success also highlights a key problem: When the wind is blowing very strongly, production is excellent; when it is calm, on the other hand, hardly a watt arrives. Since there is still a lack of large energy storage systems that could store the excess electricity generated on site, energy is lost during periods of overproduction - and poor generation periods have to be compensated for in other ways.
More record days in sight
The trend itself seems irreversible: more and more of Europe's energy needs are being met by "renewables" - and this is likely to continue. The major investments in wind power are continuing. Hundreds of new offshore turbines are to be built in the North Sea in the coming years, for example, and the continuing fall in the price of solar cells is ensuring that solar energy is increasingly - and above all profitably - used. So there will undoubtedly be more record-breaking days ahead. (Source: TechnologyReview)
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