Articles by
Craig Morris
Renewables International: How to draw the right lessons from the Energiewende
By
Craig Morris
The more an article contains evidence-based findings, the more it moves away from propaganda to professional analysis.
Surprise: Dubai Solar Auctions Reach–German FIT Prices!
By
Craig Morris
In other words, adjusted for solar conditions, this auction just produced a price almost competitive with German feed-in tariffs. So congratulations, Dubai, that’s not easy to do with auctions! . . .
There are, however, a few differences that matter. In Germany, these feed-in tariffs are open to everyone who wants to build, creating a market of competing players. In Dubai, a single firm – ACWA, “owned by eight Saudi conglomerates” and two other organizations from the area – won the contract for the 100 MW project. The bidding process itself is competitive (the part where everyone loses money), but the profitable building process is a monopoly.
Boell: The call for a German coal phaseout
By
Craig Morris
The call for a coal phaseout has been in the foreground for the past month in Germany. It all started with a leak about a discussion proposal to switch off between 5 and 10 GW of coal plant capacity, equivalent to around 5 to 10 percent of dispatchable power generation in Germany.
Renewables International: Bavaria against wind power
By
Craig Morris
Bavaria has the most PV installed of any German state. But southern Germany is going to lose quite a bit of nuclear power by the end of 2022, so Bavaria cannot do without wind power. It is hard to see how the Energiewende can succeed if Bavaria continues to keep out wind turbines.
Renewables International: The Energiewende is not just solar
By
Craig Morris
The Pew Charitable Trust makes the same mistake, essentially conflating throwing money at a problem with policy support. The main purpose of feed-in tariffs (offered for all renewable electricity, not just solar) was to bring down the cost. By calling FITs subsidies, the article falls into a trap – goal attainment (low solar prices) is now portrayed as a reduction of support.
Renewables International: German coal phaseout: SPD vs CDU
By
Craig Morris
If the policy is implemented... The renewables sector has come to see the current Social Democrats as a party of coal power; the party traditionally represents unions, including coal miners. But this new idea is directed at coal plants, not unionized coal miners. And perhaps it was unfair to believe that the SPD no longer cared about climate targets at all.
Boell: The price of new nuclear revisited
By
Craig Morris
Naturally, the technologies themselves will also have to become cheaper, but all signs indicate that the future looks bright for wind and solar power. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) sees the cost of PV continuing to drop by the end of this decade, and market researchers at Lazard also track the falling levelized cost of both solar and wind in a study published in September (PDF).
Boell: Can the energy transition make Germany independent of Russian gas?
By
Craig Morris
A new study by Fraunhofer IWES investigates how much natural gas could be offset by renewables and efficiency, and one graphic indicates the implicit message that the energy transition could make Germany independent of gas imports from Russia by 2030.
Renewables International: What 100% local renewables looks like globally
By
Craig Morris
Publications investigating a 100 percent supply of renewable energy continue to pour in. Last week, the World Future Council produced a Policy Handbook that is unique in two ways. First, it covers all energy, not just electricity. And second, it does so with a focus on cities and communities in various parts of the world.
Boell: Energy Transition may proceed without electricity storage for 20 years – transport, heat and chemicals markets will drive growth
By
Craig Morris
A recent study commissioned by Agora Energiewende comes to the conclusion that the German Energiewende does not need new electricity storage within the next 20 years. Instead, flexible fossil-fueled power plants and other intermediate options can deliver the needed power and grid stability at a lower price. Matthias Lang sums up the finding of the report.
Renewables International: 100 percent renewable power investigated in Germany
By
Craig Morris
The results of a three-year project investigating what a purely renewable power supply would look like have been published. The findings could be a roadmap for the coming years bar unforeseen technical breakthroughs.
Boell: German grid more stable in 2013
By
Craig Morris
In other words, since 2006 we have witnessed a stabilization of Germany’s impressively reliable grid even as some 35 gigawatts of solar and 35 gigawatts of wind were installed on a grid with peak demand of generally around 60-70 gigawatts. Clearly, installing the equivalent of 100 percent of peak demand as wind and solar capacity does not bring down the grid. At the same time, the main correlation with low SAIDI seems to be the amount of underground cabling (as opposed to overhead lines), not the share of renewables, as I explained last year.
