Sunday, November 11, 2012

Germany's electricity generation booms... on renewables

Renewable energy sources are not anymore just the future but the present and Germany is maybe the most clear example of that. 

From DW:

Power exports peak, despite nuclear phase-out

Renewable energy sources are booming in Germany, and electric utilities exported more power in 2012 than ever before. But energy experts warn that what sounds like progress has its downsides. 

Windmills stand in front of power plants Foto: Oliver Berg
Germany began turning off its nuclear power plants 18 months ago, following the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Since then, many in the business and industrial communities and the general public have feared that the country would soon be facing energy shortages and even blackouts due to a lack of electricity.

Instead, Germany has produced so much electricity this year that it has actually exported its surplus. In 2011, Germany was a net importer of electricity, but this year, utility companies sent some 14.7 billion kilowatt hours of power abroad, according to preliminary figures made public by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).

Cheap power from Germany

The rapid increase in power generation in Germany from wind, solar and hydro, however, has been accompanied by an equally rapid decrease in the price of electricity - and not just for German consumers, but also for large customers outside Germany.


... continue reading at DW (h/t EneNews).

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