Articles by
Craig Morris
Germany is 20 years away from 100 percent renewable power – not!
By
Craig Morris
In 2015, Germany added more renewable electricity than ever before in a single year, bringing the share of green power in total supply up to 33 percent. But the government seems keen on slowing down this growth.
German PV in 2016
By
Craig Morris
As the German PV market continues to grind to a halt, new rules that took effect on January 1 could slow things down even further.
What happens during windstorms in Germany?
By
Craig Morris
This year, it will have closer to a third renewable power, close the new target for 2020, which now stands at 35 percent. Moreover, the level of 20 percent – once thought hard to reach by 2020 – has become hard to fall below in 2015.
Is the German nuclear phase-out fundamentally botched?
By
Craig Morris
The “Exit now” article assumes that the phase-out caused this financial misery. In fact, the phase-out gave power firms a brief respite. If the nine (of 17) reactors switched off immediately after Fukushima were online today, there would be even more overcapacity – and hence, even lower wholesale prices.
German government clamps down on renewables growth
By
Craig Morris
Wind power, which the transition needs the most, will suffer the most, especially on shore.
Community wind farm in Bavaria
By
Craig Morris
Bavaria has implemented draconian conditions for new wind farms. At Starnberger Lake, a mayor and his community have rushed to complete a wind farm before the new stipulations take effect. The story shows that not all Bavarians support their state government’s stance on wind power.
Austria phases out coal?
By
Craig Morris
Essentially, Austria is simply shutting down plants that are not making money. Two out of three of them happen to be coal-fired.
If Germany had four times more solar…
By
Craig Morris
If you want to stay hooked up to the grid, the utility controls your battery storage, and you get a feed-in tariff (currently around 10 cents) with a target six-percent return, which is fairer than offsetting a much higher 25 cent retail rate.
Slippery slope towards French nuclear phaseout
By
Craig Morris
But we still need to keep in mind that the French dump nuclear on neighboring countries on the cheap when demand is low. When demand is high, French reactors cannot even cover domestic demand. In other words, the EU cannot rely on French nuclear.
German power exports more valuable than imports
By
Craig Morris
Germany exports more electricity when demand (and hence prices) are high; it imports when demand and prices are low.
Germany hardly needs industry demand management
By
Craig Morris
As in other countries, German industry can be asked to change power consumption in order to stabilize the grid. Now, it turns out that the policy option is used so seldom that it is to be done away with – another sign that the concern about fluctuating renewables on the grid may be exaggerated.
German auctions bring down prices of wind power?
By
Craig Morris
In an assessment of the German energy transition, US environmentalist Carl Pope says that the policy switch from feed-in tariffs to auctions – which Germany does not yet even have for wind power – has brought down the cost of wind power.
