- Germany is the biggest market for renewable energy. Between 2000 and 2011 electricity from renewable sources (wind and solar) increased from 6.8 to 20.5% of the total consumption.
- In Germany, anyone with a roof erects solar panels to produce power, the excess of which is sold back to the utility at fixed prices guaranteed for decades.
- Experts are however critical about the policy, especially about the adopted feed-in tariff scheme as
- Unreliable nature of renewable electricity is undermining the stability of the European grid, provoking international accidents.
- The policy is bad for the consumers, producers and the environment.
- Only home owners and installation companies benefit from the scheme.
- Increasing costs of renewable energy has also prompted the govt to slash subsidies and deployment rates. Germany has the highest residential electricity cost, which leads to electricity shut off in many houses due to non-payment of bills.
- Lack of large-scale grid storage makes it difficult to manage large-scale photovoltaic solar power.
- To prevent black outs Germany has opened new coal and gas fired plants.
- During 2012, Capacity Factors in Germany were solar – 11%; wind – 17%; fossil fuel – 80% and for nuclear – 94%.
- Experts believe that in India, the annual need of power can be met through renewable energy alone.
- However, there exists a mismatch between diurnal variations of electricity generation and the demand for electricity because of the intermittent nature of solar and wind power.
- India must promote all modes of power generation in India, and also effectively balance the grid by managing the excess produced.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/travails-of-renewable-power-in-germany/article6083860.ece
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