Germany has been a global leader in the application of renewable energy and environmental technologies for decades. Wind, solar, biomass, and hydroelectric sources accounted for 46% of the country’s electricity mix in 2019. This is an increase of 5.6 percentage points from 2018. The majority of clean power came from onshore and offshore wind capacity (24.4%), followed by solar (9%) and biomass (8.7%), with hydropower accounting for the remainder. All renewable technologies combined generated 238.37 terawatt hours of electricity. Now, plan has been proposed so Germany Will Use 80 to 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2050.
Renewables’ proportion is expected to remain above 45% in 2020. Even though excellent weather increased solar output in 2019, more renewable energy sources are coming online, and weather patterns are predicted to stay reasonably consistent in 2020. In the long run, renewables are predicted to account for 65% of total energy consumption by 2030. And accordingly, Germany Will Use 80 to 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2050.
Green Renewable Energy Integration
There is still much work to be done to encourage societal adoption of renewable energy and commercial support, and research objectives in Germany have shifted to reflect a new phase of the transition. The objective today, he argues, is to understand the big picture: how can Germany weave proven renewable-energy technology into a coordinated network capable of giving stable power to businesses and society? To accommodate new forms of energy generation, the country’s grid system and storage capacities, in particular, must be modernized.
Solar, for example, was once a thriving industry. Although funding for cutting-edge solar research is still available. And the most money has been spent on projects that encourage cross-sector collaboration.
Germany will use 80 to 100 percent renewable energy for which
- The government will invest €400 million between now and 2025 in projects involving energy storage, the development of a renewable-powered power grid, the adaptation of industrial processes to fluctuating the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, as well as the combination of conventional and renewable energy production.
- In a break from the typical funding structure, each initiative involves hundreds of partners, with a focus on bringing scientists together with industrial groups, private firms, and civil society to ensure public buy-in. One of the projects, for example, brings together 18 academic institutions, 27 industrial businesses, and three civil-society organizations to work on the problem of converting intermittent renewable electricity to hydrogen or other molecules for storage.
Working together towards Germany’s Renewable Energy Problems
Politicians and sociologists are also finding a home in German renewables research. Over 1.6 million solar cells have sprung on roofs and in fields across Germany, while wind turbines have become a common sight – and not everyone is pleased with the shift.
As a result, research institutes that were previously focused on scientific and technological questions are expanding their portfolios to include economic analysis and ‘acceptance research,’ hoping to better understand how to incentivize businesses to adopt green energy and shape public opinion of the energy transition.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Research has been at the forefront of this transition. It has about 1,200 people and works at the crossroads of applied science and industry, doing research with a combination of public and private funding. Henning contends that government financing alone is insufficient to establish a sustainable renewables research sector and is a major reason for Germany’s renewable energy problems. And that policymakers and academics must work hard to maintain public and private sector support.
PV solar panels are a good example: government funding propelled the country to the forefront of PV research, but low-cost manufacturing eventually drove PV-panel manufacturers overseas. Henning is concerned that if politicians are not cautious, German investments in battery development and other areas could suffer a similar fate. Also read Why transparent Solar Panels are the Future
