yeah
large wind farms solar panels on rooftops biogas plants
germany is changing because of its energy transition but what is energy
transition really mean why is it so important now and where the
opportunities and challenges
we need energy in all areas of life for transportation and as heat and
electricity today we get most of our energy from fossil fuels but there are
many arguments against the use of fossil fuels
two of the most important factors since the beginning of industrialization we
burn more and more fossil fuels releasing large amounts of carbon
dioxide
this increases the greenhouse effect which is causing the earth to heat up
rapidly
we've induced manmade climate change which dramatically changes our planet's
natural processes and creates a number of problems
fossil fuels are finite especially the amount of available oil
our main energy resource is decreasing rapidly
there is still some oil left but exploitation is becoming increasingly
expensive unsafe and dangerous for the environment
both factors are exacerbated by rapid economic development in emerging
countries the result accelerated climate change and increasing resource scarcity
to curb this trend a massive shift in energy policy is essential
nuclear power is no solution
the catastrophe of Fukushima has shown this once again
Germany's energy transition involves two main changes first a shift to renewable
energy instead of fossil fuel second a decrease in energy use through design
technology and energy efficiency measures
let's take a closer look at these issues renewable energy sources
this means the extraction of energy from materials that are not finite or that
regenerate themselves this can happen in large plants but also on a small scale
in private households close to the consumer wind turbines have rotors which
are moved by the power of the wind a generator then creates electricity
yeah
similar to wind power in hydroelectric power stations kinetic energy drives a
generator which produces electricity wave and tidal power plants use the
natural movement of the sea
there are two major forms of solar energy solar collectors heat a
transmission medium with the sun's energy on a small scale
this includes hot water heaters for individual households on a large scale
concentrated solar power plants produce electricity solar photovoltaic cells
convert the sun's rays directly into electricity
these systems are often installed on rooftops geothermal energy can also be
absorbed by collectors just a few metres below the earth's surface
the increased temperature can be high enough to supply the heating for private
households in regions with high underground temperatures
electricity can also be generated in this way
biomass from animal and vegetable substances like organic waste from
agriculture and households or specially grown energy crops can generate
electricity or be converted into fuel the fermentation of these substances
produces methane gas which is transformed into electricity and heat in
cogeneration plants ethanol and biodiesel fuels can be produced with
special energy crops solid biomass is burned in order to generate heat or
electricity when burned plants only release the amount of co2 they have
absorbed during their growth
thus
the carbon balance is neutral
from the energy source to the consumer energy runs through various conversion
processes in each of these steps energy is lost to increase energy efficiency
means to minimize these losses or in other words to win as much Annette
energy as possible from the original energy source many losses in industry
and households can be avoided in electricity production and in many
industries a great amount of heat is released as a by-product heat and power
co generation uses this energy to heat the surrounding community old appliances
with a high power demand can be exchanged for more efficient ones
this decreases power consumption and lowers costs for the consumer
just as important as increasing efficiency is the reduction of overall
consumption our way of life uses too much energy we need to conserve the
energy transition is a very complex challenge
what are the difficulties the use of renewable energy can have negative
psychological consequences
occasionally the interests of nature conservation conflict with production of
green power wind and hydroelectric power plants may damage the habitats of birds
and fish for the cultivation of energy crops rain forests are cleared this
destroys valuable ecosystems and important natural carbon sinks and
increases co2 emissions energy crops are often grown on fields that previously
grew food crops
this increases world food prices residents in the vicinity of many power
plants can complain about unsightly buildings and noise at times state
funding practices have been criticized subsidies can hinder a complete
restructuring and favored a few large energy producers businesses and
households often cannot afford the upfront cost of buying more efficient
equipment and sometimes it's very difficult for us to change our habits
the reliable and constant supply of green electricity is a major technical
challenge two points are particularly challenging the structure of power grids
and the storage of power in germany for example energy production and
consumption are located in different regions the largest supplier of
renewable electricity wind power plants are mostly located in the north
due to good climate conditions much of the country's energy intensive industry
however it's located in the south
currently the power grid lacks the capability to transport enough energy
from north to south as a result energy often has to be bought from other
sources
even though enough energy is actually produced in addition renewable energy
sources are heavily dependent on the weather
their output fluctuates and times when power plants achieve a high performance
for example when there's a strong wind
there's a lack of sufficient storage capacity for the energy surplus
pump storage stations our way to store some electrical energy but these storage
facilities take a lot of space and a certain geography at this time a
well-engineered storage technology that could be implemented nationwide doesn't
exist a technical solution might be so-called smart grids these intelligent
power grids observing link production storage and consumption of energy in a
large integrated system depending on the demand for energy at a certain time they
can fine-tune energy production and moderate consumption
they balance fluctuations between energy supply and demand and integrate the many
new decentralized producers into the power grid
thus the energy supply becomes more efficient and more reliable
we see an energy transition is inevitable
the change to renewable energy definitely poses many challenges but
these are much smaller and easier to deal with than the consequences of
continued reliance on fossil fuels and the energy transition also offers
enormous opportunities
the exploration and development of this new economic sector is creating many new
jobs
we also reduce our dependence on oil and gas imports with its energy transition
Germany as well as other countries can play a leading role in developing new
technologies and can make an important contribution to shaping a sustainable
future