Germans still have doubts about renewable energy

On 30 June, the German parliament discussed the adoption of a new renewable energy law that legally confirmed the complete abandonment of nuclear energy development and decided to increase its investment in the development of renewable energy in Germany. According to a survey conducted by relevant German agencies, most Germans place great hopes on this law. The nuclear leak in Fukushima, Japan, sounded the alarm for the Germans. They decided to completely abandon the previous nuclear policy and focus on the development of renewable energy. But just as every coin has two sides, in Germany, the voice of doubt about the effectiveness of renewable energy has quietly emerged.

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear leak shocked the world. The Merkel administration decided to completely abandon nuclear energy in order not to lose the votes of most voters. The German government decided that Germany will close all its nuclear power plants 11 years later. This decision means that the future electricity supply in Germany will be replaced by other energy sources. Germany’s energy supply is mainly generated by thermal power stations, which use coal and natural gas, and nearly a quarter of electricity comes from nuclear energy. Renewable energy provides about 17% of total electricity supply. In order to protect the climate, the German government has made a commitment internationally to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% in the coming years. If Germany abandons nuclear power generation and cannot increase the power generation capacity of thermal power plants, it will only be able to develop renewable energy.

The Expert Committee on the Environment, which advises the German government on the development of renewable energy, submitted a special assessment report last year. The expert committee, Professor Vrschtit, pointed out: "Germany can guarantee energy supply through 100% renewable energy." According to the Commission’s reasoning, completing this goal by 2050 is realistic and affordable. In the long run, this can even be the most advantageous economic strategy. However, some German media recently published articles on the issue of renewable energy. On Sunday, June 26, the "Wednesday Le Monde" published articles on media interviews with renewable energy production companies, scientists and renewable energy researchers, and renewable energy users. The interviewees were all more or less rejuvenated. Expressed doubts. Taking the most popular solar energy in renewable energy as an example, a recent public opinion survey conducted by Germany's authoritative economic data survey agency shows that 99% of respondents believe that solar energy is the most important source of future energy supply. However, scientific and technological workers are increasingly skeptical about the rapid development of solar energy. They believe that the cost of solar power is too high and has had an impact on economic development. Recently, the German Minister of the Environment also stated that Germany cannot guarantee the continued implementation of the compulsory acquisition and subsidy policy for solar power after 2012. There are two main reasons why Germany has to control the installation scale of solar photovoltaic systems. First, the installation scale of German solar photovoltaic systems poses a challenge to the carrying capacity of the domestic power grid. It is estimated that by the end of this year, the installation scale of German solar photovoltaic systems will exceed 16 megawatts, ranking first in the world. If the installation of photovoltaic systems in Germany continues to maintain a strong growth, the stability and safety of the grid will be greatly challenged. Second, the high cost of solar photovoltaic power will increase the financial burden on the government.

In addition, in terms of economic efficiency, solar power generation cannot be compared with wind power generation. According to the data provided by The Le Monde, the solar panels of 20 football stadiums generate the same amount of electricity as a wind turbine generator. In addition, due to natural conditions such as day and night, seasons, geographic latitude, and altitude, as well as the influence of random factors such as clear, cloudy, cloud, and rain, the irradiance to a certain ground is both intermittent and extremely unstable. , This adds difficulty to the large-scale application of solar energy.

The growth of the solar market in Germany began to slow down, exposing many problems in its use of solar power generation. In terms of policy, the solar energy policy formulated by the German government did not promote the steady growth of the domestic solar market. In terms of scientific research, the installed capacity of solar energy in Germany has increased dramatically in recent years, and related scientific research technology has not kept pace with its development. For example, the lack of small power storage devices has caused serious waste of solar power in Germany. Furthermore, in order to make greater use of renewable energy sources, the grid must be restructured to adapt to the special requirements of large fluctuations in solar energy. Especially in Germany, the power grid is designed for large-scale power stations such as coal-fired power generation and nuclear power that continuously transmit power to the grid day and night. Renewable energy, on the other hand, relies on sunshine and weather conditions, and the amount of electricity generated is very limited. The new energy grid must be able to quickly receive large amounts of electricity in a short period of time and deliver it to places where electricity is needed. The German Renewable Energy Association, Ditmar Schulz, also stated that green energy costs are indeed more expensive, affecting industries such as chemicals, steel, and cement, which consume large amounts of electricity. Therefore, cost control needs attention.