Error in the strategy: At almost 60%, there would already be enough renewable energy, but not when it is needed

🌞🏗️ Progress and weaknesses in infrastructure and strategy: the German energy transition in focus

Germany is at a critical point in its energy transition. Despite impressive progress in the expansion of renewable energies, the weaknesses in the current strategy and infrastructure are becoming increasingly clear. In particular, the uneven distribution of energy production and the slow expansion of the network infrastructure pose immense challenges to the energy transition.

🔋 As early as 2020, the Xpert.Digital platform warned of the increasing importance of energy storage systems to ensure the stability of the German power grid. This warning is proving to be prescient today. According to a report by the Frankfurter Rundschau dated September 2, 2024, Germany has energy reserves equivalent to the output of five nuclear power plants, but these resources are not being used efficiently. Instead, there is a clear discrepancy between production and actual energy demand, highlighting the need for improved storage and distribution technology.

Suitable for:

• Renewable energies: Now it's all about energy storage systems (2020)

🌍🌞 A central problem is the dependence of electricity production on the time of day. Renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power (in many regions it is less windy at night), often produces more electricity than is needed during the day, while there is not enough energy available in the evening hours when demand increases. These fluctuations illustrate the current inadequacy of the German energy system to adequately respond to variable energy sources.

🚧 Another major problem is the slow expansion of the power grids. The existing infrastructure is not able to efficiently integrate the rapidly growing renewable energy capacities. The result is network bottlenecks and inefficient energy distribution, which endangers security of supply. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck pointed out in July 2023 that thousands of kilometers of additional power grids would be required over the next two decades to ensure energy supplies. However, the planning and approval of these projects is lengthy and complex, which significantly delays the expansion.

Matches:

• More speed for electricity network expansion: The need for an expanded network - especially for renewable energies
• Infrastructure Electricity Highway: Grid expansion and the energy transition – shaping and expanding a sustainable future

🛠 The challenges of integrating renewable energies are illustrated through concrete examples. As the Frankfurter Rundschau writes on September 2, 2024 , the rapid increase in new systems such as heat pumps and charging stations for electric vehicles led to significant network bottlenecks in Oranienburg. The city now has to inform owners that they cannot register any further systems for the time being. This shows that the power grid is already reaching its limits in many regions of Germany.

🛠 Xpert.Digital can report from its own projects in the economy that solar parking spaces and hall roof solar systems cannot be implemented in industrial complexes and must be postponed to a later date because the network capacities in the affected regions are already fully utilized.

The delay in the implementation of urgently needed infrastructure projects not only endangers the energy supply, but also the achievement of climate goals.

💰 In addition to the technical and infrastructural challenges, there are also financial hurdles. Expanding network capacities requires significant investments, which in many cases cannot or could not be made available in a timely manner. An example of this is the construction of large solar systems in industry as mentioned above, which cannot be implemented in many regions due to full network capacities. The completion of these projects could be delayed by several years, if not a decade, further hindering the energy transition.

🔍 These problems raise fundamental questions about the strategy of the energy transition in Germany. It is not enough to simply increase the share of renewable energy. Rather, the entire energy infrastructure, from the storage systems to the power grids to the distribution and management of energy consumption, must be comprehensively modernized and adapted to the new requirements . This is the only way Germany can achieve its climate goals and at the same time ensure a stable and secure energy supply.

🔮 Looking ahead shows that solving these problems requires an integrated approach. This includes investments in advanced energy storage technologies, accelerated expansion of power grids and the development of intelligent systems to control and optimize energy consumption. In addition, politicians must create faster and more efficient approval procedures in order to enable the urgently needed expansion of the infrastructure.

🛤️ Germany is facing a double challenge: On the one hand, the expansion of renewable energies must be further promoted, and on the other hand, the existing structural deficits in the energy infrastructure must be remedied. The next few years will be crucial in determining whether we can overcome these challenges and successfully shape the energy transition.

🔋⚡ But there are not only challenges, but also solutions: The Frankfurter Rundschau reports that these solutions are already waiting to be used in German basements. There are already so many small electricity storage systems installed in Germany that their total capacity is roughly equivalent to that of five nuclear power plants. A suggestion for this comes from Felix Dembski from Sonnen GmbH. The existing eight gigawatts of installed home storage systems in Germany are currently not allowed to sell their stored electricity individually on the electricity exchange. However, in the form of a “virtual power plant” they could, as a large power plant, have a significant influence on pricing on the stock exchange.

🌞⚡ Another possibility is the expansion of the intelligent power grid with artificial intelligence, which Xpert.Digital reported on in 2020:

• Smart Grid: Artificial intelligence in the field of renewable energies

📣 Similar topics

• 🌞🏗️ Progress and weaknesses in the German energy transition
• 🔋 Grid bottlenecks caused by renewable energies: A look at storage technologies
• 🌍🌞 Time of day dependence of electricity production and its challenges
• 🚧 Slow grid expansion as an obstacle to renewable energies
• 🛠 Network overload due to new systems: An example from Oranienburg
• 💰 Investment requirements for network expansion: The financial challenges
• 🔍 Strategic questions about the energy transition in Germany
• 🔮 Future solutions: Advanced energy storage and intelligent grids
• 🛤️ The double challenge of the energy transition in Germany
• ⚡ Smaller electricity storage as a solution: The role of virtual power plants

#️⃣ Hashtags: #Energy Transition #Electricity Storage #Grid Expansion #RenewableEnergy #VirtualPower Plants

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