The Trend Papers provide you with a quick overview of the background and current developments on selected topics.
By global standards, Germany is among the countries with the most reliable power supply. Decentralization is becoming a major strength in this regard. Heterogeneous energy sources and storage technologies are capable of offsetting frequency fluctuations on a small scale.
Development of energy sharing in Europe, opportunities and challenges of energy sharing, citizen participation in the renewable, decentralized and digital energy world.
Digital technologies revolutionize the manner in which we generate, distribute and use energy.
To operate our power grid safely and stably, we have to create a balance between the growing proportion of weather-dependent power generation and fluctuating consumption. For a swift response to fluctuations in demand and production, flexibility is becoming increasingly important because it prevents expensive interventions in case of bottlenecks and ensures a safe supply with volatile photovoltaics and wind energy. Read more about three application trends.
There is a growing trend to combine large-scale photovoltaic installations with wind power and battery storage systems.
As we move towards decarbonization and greater sector coupling, the worlds of photovoltaics, battery storage and e-mobility are becoming increasingly intertwined. This trend was clear to see at The smarter E Europe 2022.
Thanks to their particularly low electricity production costs, PV Power Plants are the most important drivers of the photovoltaics market. These are increasingly financed with partners in the industrial sector or energy industry through multiple-year power purchase agreements (PPA). This enables companies to hedge against rocketing electricity prices from fossil and nuclear power plants and take practical steps towards reaching their climate targets.
The German government’s climate targets are ambitious. They require real action on the part of businesses if they are to be met. Awareness of the issue of climate change is constantly increasing.
Commercial enterprises, particularly those with a high energy consumption (manufacturing), are facing more and more pressure to adapt to a changing energy system and in turn must and also want to find ways to optimize their energy consumption.
Storage systems are becoming increasingly important as we generate more and more power from the volatile wind and sun. Short-term storage systems located directly at the point where a wind or solar park is connected to the grid offer a solution for tackling fluctuations in power production and will play a key role in the energy transition.
A fluctuating power consumption is confronted by a volatile power supply. Flexibility is needed in order to stabilize the power grid and balance out fluctuations between supply and demand. Above all, more flexible consumption is key for the success of the transformation of the energy system.