Earlier this month on a very sunny and windy day, Germany managed to hit a peak of 59.1% renewable power generation, and what’s more, the heavily industrialized country’s power grid did not explode, Greentechmedia has pointed out.
It was around midday on October 3, which just happened to be Germany’s annual Reunification Day holiday, when the sun was at its fullest and the significant peak was reached. Over the entire day, 36.4% of total electricity generation was achieved with solar and wind power; solar panels contributed 11.2% on their own. At its peak, solar accounted for 20.5 gigawatts.
Although the electrical grid withstood the large amount of renewable energy flowing to it, you’ll be pleased to know that electricity prices also dived. A drop in demand from big, conventional power plants led the electricity price index at 2:00pm to 2.75 cents per kilowatt hour. The index covers Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland.
So there you have it. A country as large and industrialized as Germany can and did operate successfully, albeit on a national holiday, using a large percentage of renewable energy. And this is only the beginning.
Image CC licensed by jim Winstead: Solar panels on houses in Germany
Via Greetechmedia
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