As Lack of Wind and Fog Persists For Days In Germany, Output Falls To Near Zero!

At 5 p.m. last Wednesday, Germany’s 1602 offshore wind turbines in the North and Baltic Seas stood still…solar output was also near zero. Germany had to scramble to keep supply going..

It is a myth to believe, wind and solar provide enough electricity at all times, 24/7/365.

The myth that there will be enough wind and sunshine somewhere in Europe was shattered at the beginning of November 2024.

Daniel Wetzel describes the situation in the online Die Welt (pay article)

.

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, solar power was supplying ONE MWh, due to fog.

The 1602 offshore wind turbines in the North and Baltic Seas – each one the size of the Eiffel Tower – were at a complete standstill. 

Zero wind and solar electricity production, plus these systems need electricity even if they are not producing

The onshore wind turbines produced only 114 MWh at that hour, with German electricity consumption at 63,000 MWh.

Transmission system operator Amprion described the situation on the LinkedIn web portal on Thursday: ‘The minimum feed-in from wind and PV was just around 100 MW in total (in the period from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.).’

This means that the 87,000 MW of PV solar capacity and around 72,000 MW of wind power capacity in Germany, with at least 300 billion-euro subsidies, were virtually unused for hours on end.

There was no danger to the power supply, it was said. ‘No sun, no wind – yesterday and today there was a dark doldrums in Germany,’ explained Amprion on Thursday: ‘Our system management had everything under control., by having massive imports, at high prices, from nearby countries, plus by using all our coal and gas plants, which fortunately are still in service'

.

Without the fossil power producers and foreign countries, things would have looked bad.

.

A situation that was expected and planned for; having two power systems 

Instead, graphics of totally irrelevant annual cycles were waved around to show, sun and wind would complement each other perfectly, which is utter BS, because wind and sun are minimal at night.

The fatal thing about the situation is the prices.

Fossil power generation has been made politically more expensive and in times of shortage (no wind, no sun), prices really go through the roof. Die Welt added:

The peak prices of the past week are possibly just a harbinger of what is to be expected in the coming winter.

The expert agency “Montel” quotes energy market experts ,who expect price peaks of 1000 euros per MWh in the event of further wind lulls.

This is because in times of low wind power production, increasingly expensive gas-fired power plants have to step in, which then define the market price level.

Traders interviewed by “Montel” also referred to the German nuclear and coal phase-out, which has reduced the base load-capable power plant capacity that can produce regardless of the weather.

The imminent onset of the autumn and winter cold in Europe is also likely to drive up prices.

This is because France in particular will then see a sharp increase in its own consumption, as many heating systems in the country are powered by low-cost nuclear electricity.

The surge in demand for electricity in France is likely to further increase the relative shortage on the European Power Exchange and thus drive up prices.”

German customers are screwed with high prices, no matter what the situation

Many industries are closing their plants, because they operate at a loss.

Battery systems to the rescue?

BATTERY SYSTEM CAPITAL COSTS, OPERATING COSTS, ENERGY LOSSES, AND AGING
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/battery-system-capital...