Archive for January, 2012
GERMANY AND ENERGY ISSUES
Posted by samdemic in Uncategorized on January 23, 2012
SOLAR
Just weeks after the solar industry installed the one millionth system in Germany, the country’s solar trade association announced that the technology accounted for 3% of total energy generation in 2011 — increasing 60% over 2010 to 18.6 terawatt-hours (18.6 billion kilowatt-hours.)
Even with changes to the feed-in tariff that have reduced solar photovoltaic installations compared with previous boom years, the sector was still the fastest growing among all other renewable energy sectors in 2011, according to preliminary figures.
This follows data released last week showing that renewable energy accounted for 19.9 percent of electricity production in the country in 2011, growing 16.4 percent over 2010. Meanwhile, overall energy use in the country fell 4.8% due to warmer temperatures and increasing efficiency efforts, further boosting the value of solar generation.
NUCLEAR
Germany is shifting from an expensive nuclear exit policy of shut down/demolish/
replace to shut down – upgrade generators – drive deep geothermic heat wells to power steam generators and add heat recapture p.g bringing the ex-reactors back on line with close to 200% p.g. output. With on-site radioactive waste transportation systems.
Excess power from those and surges in renewables will generate hydrogen into the gas grids as a form of power buffer.
Over the mid and long term, converting strip mined brown coal operating plants to deep geothermic-heat recapture is also beyond the preliminary discussion phase. These will be hooked up to expanding long distance heat-hot water systems.(coupled co-generative systems) These will also have upgraded generators.
BIO-GAS
Lacking space for garbage dumps most German city utilities long ago built bio waste methane recapture blended with natural gas to fire high temperature sewage sludge and garbage waste incineration plants which also feed a cites long distance heat and hot water system. Everything I throw into trash and flush down the toilet is literally returned to me in the form of power and long distance heat.
HYDRO ELECTRICITY
Existing hydroelectric is being upgraded with new A ++++ generators, yielding an up to 30% increase in hydro-electric power output by 2025.
Germans developed and patented floating, anchored, on-stream power generation. They are not only an excellent export item, but anchored out of the way of river traffic, 3000 big ten megawatt units will be putting another, constant 30.000 megawatts onto the grid by 2025. All extra power from that will go into generating hydrogen energy buffering going into storage and onto the grid.
German revised building codes mandate combined concentrated solar heat – shallow geothermicor hook up to long distance heat from utilities on all new buildings. By
2025, nother 2 million older buildings will have also been retrofitted with these heating oil and natural gas saving devices.
Thanks to direct and indirect subsidy programs such as mandated local utility buy back, many German farms are already equipped with solar voltaic and village cooperative operating wind turbines. 1.5 % of all German farms are already equipped with septic tank gas recapture-septic tank sludge-celluose waste roting methane recapture or cow manure methane recapture.
By adding something called HHO browns gas generation and radical steam ionisation to the fuel cells we boost output while slashing re-captured methane consumption by 90%. Surprised?
By 2025, in addition to solar p.v. and wind, methane recapapture/aqueous systems on farms will be putting out an average of 50 kWh and a mix of mixed recaptured methane and hydrogen of about 4 cubic meters per farm. i.e. another 10.000 mWh constantly feeding the grid and about 800.000 cubic meters a day of mixed methane hydrogen going into the national gas grid.
With all the wind solar and other distributed energy feeds, German, Swiss, and Austrian utilities laid and are laying optical fibre cable not only for telecommunications-
but for true, fast response smart grid co-ordination of all the decentralized power sources.
At its beginning phases, Germany is replacing its pure natural gas or heating oil heat systems with coupled co-generative systems, either fuel cells also generating heat, or V.W Gulf engines driving 30 KW generators. Now new advances let these be operated off approximately 10 percent recapture methane-hydrogen, and 80% “aqueous fuels systems.” Thermostat and smart grid coordinated controlled- belonging to mostly communally owned utilities.
In addition to owning, operating, and upgrading its own power generation system, state owned German rail is upgrading its national German grid to commercially carry
HTDC power. So are French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish rail.
“Westwind” will put up over 15.000 wind turbines on the Western and northern coasts of the Iberian Pensula and France.
The French-German “Deertec Consortium” was originally scheduled at a 400 billion Euro investment, but now Morocco,, Algeria, Tunesia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Libya and Egypt are coming in an upping the ante.
By 2030, Desertec concentrated solar will cover more than 15% of all future mediterrean basin and French German power needs.
Better to adapt a more “wait and see” attitude towards the massively growing German sustainability sector rather than rushing to early conclusions.
Nobody over there was expecting Germany to take an alternative route in its nuclear shutdown program – upgrading generators and converting to deep geothermic and heat recapture- bringing them back online generating close to 200% the power.
The last German nuclear power plants will go off line at the end of 2022, and be back up on line with deep geothermic heat recapture by the end of 2022.
We should be off fossil for stationary power and heat systems by the end of 2025 according to city owned Munich utilities- with more than double the power heat output of 2011. That all adds up to ore exports in the sustainability sector and more margin with full employment.
Think progress green should keep a closer eye on what is going on in Europe right now to continuously cut consumption while increasing performance.
Germany has cut its fossil fuel consumption since re-unification by 50% since 1992. Munich already has a per capita fossil fuel consumption of only 30% of a comparable U.S. region such as Washington DC. Area. That 70% difference already spells margin and less than 3% unemployment.
In Munich, the figure is already closer to 60% with the utilities operating the biggest solar voltaic installation in Europe roofing the new Munich trade fair centre with it, Augmenting Europe’s most extensive, most intensively connected, long distance heat hot water system from the thermodynamic power plants with deep geothermic, a brand new deep geothermic/heat recapture power plant on the western edge of the city, also feeding long distance heat + hot water grid, the city gas/Nat gas fired sewage sludge and and garbage incineration plant, 40% Alpine foothill hydro-electric now being upgraded with new A +++ generators for 30% more improved hydraulic mechanical to electrical power efficiency. Mandated buy back from all the massive solar voltaic installations going in, local wind, participation in North and Baltic sea wind farms.
Scheduled participation in Desertec, and Bavarian anchored on-stream hydro-electric. Munich power plant south upgraded 15 years ago to combined cycle with a G.E. gas turbine, with hot exhausts driving a steam turbine… with long distance heat hot water.
The utilities also operate Europe’s best, state-of-the art, energy saving urban transit system… with common rail diesel single frame and jointed low entry busses, brake energy recycling streetcar-light rail, and brake energy recycling subways lines interconnecting with German commuter rail-also, brake energy recycling at points all over town.
American Airlines placed a huge 20 billion Euro order with Airbus because it is already more 30% more fuel efficient than older Airbus models. Two other measure further cut consumption another 50% >Soon in testing. Comptrollers worried about operation fuel costs will tip more sales the way of Airbus. Imagine a 2014 new A 380 coming off the line in 2014 which uses 70% less kerosene than a Boeing 747 on comparable stretches. Cutting 70% of the kerosene in air travel is definitely green.
The same is t be done with automotive, rail, and maritime applications.
Off nuclear by the end of 2022 means then all back on line putting out double the power by the end of 2023.Off fossil for all other stationary apps is achievable by the end of 2025. Slashing fossil fuel in all transportation aviation, maritime, rail, automotive by at least 85% is do-able here by the end of 2025.And despite the massive cuts, European refineries will continue to process at full speed and ship finished product via Rotterdam, Frial, Marseilles, Bremen, Bremerhaven to unloading points in the U.S.
This looks like the approximate scenarios for Germany and the continental EEC over the next 13 years.
Fukishima reshuffled the “sustainability” card deck in Europe. Reactor shut down and demolition with replacement with other energy forms is now perceived as the most expensive and least feasible of options.
Sustainability based recovery is now the prime goal of the continental Euro zone EEC.
General sustainability will surpass the automotive industry as the biggest sector in the German GNP. It will reach over 20% of the gnp by 2020.Sustainability technology helped boost German exports from 8000 billion in the crash year of 2008, to projected export volume of over 1.4 trillion Euros for fiscal year 2011, ending at the end of March. Most of that was accounted for by export to other EEC countries and the BRICK- Brazil, Russia, India, China, Korea-south, followed by OPEC states, and the Association of Southwest African States, South Africa. GE just backed out of massive deal for 24.700 wind turbines in Africa as they could not swing the forward financing. That is being split by Dutch Philipps, French Alstrom, and German Siemens.
Major Indian industrial groups selected Phoenix and Schott Solar to build local production of concentrated solar units- on close to 3000 square kilometres arid-semi arid lands forward financed by massive OPEC BRICK development funds.
One drunken after hours remark by a British subject negotiating for G.E. to a minister of energy in Windhoek last year queered an almost done deal for 24.7000 wind turbines in Southern Africa another ten thousand on the Eastern Horn and Arabia, perhaps another 10.000 on the Indian coastline. The contracts are now being divided up between
Philipps, Alstrom, Lockheed, and Siemens.
Excerpts from Kent Doering and Think Progress Green website.