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... Germany turned to solar like never before last Friday and Saturday as the nation's PV installations fed 22 gigawatts of electricity into the grid at one point, providing nearly half of the country's energy needs.
In doing so, Germany answered some critical questions as it reshapes its policy away from nuclear power and toward renewable sources like solar, wind and biomass. Chief among the concerns is how much intermittent solar Germany can seamlessly integrate into its grid without causing major disruptions.
During one 24-hour period, Germany’s PV accounted for nearly a third of the nation’s energy needs on midday Friday when the nation’s factories and offices were humming along, and then it approached 50 percent midday Saturday as residents enjoyed a sun-filled weekend.
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Of course this drops to near zero at night as there is very little storage in Germany (or anywhere), but an important point is output somewhat matches demand.
These batteries will make wind and solar power very practical in the future. Today, electric utilities must provide sufficient fossil fuel powered backup to handle the worst case conditions when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. Using readily available raw materials, this looks like an economically feasible product.
Posted by: Roger | May 30, 2012 at 10:48