Just after the announcement of China’s National Energy Administration to install 10 GW additional photovoltaic capacity during 2013, Beijing reported a new pollution record this weekend. Arguably, a centrally planned economy may have its benefits, but even this enormous addition of renewable energy is going to be just a drop in the ocean. However, it's already having a huge impact on the stock market. The gold rush has been declared opened...
Some call it trade conflict, others even war: Commentaries on the latest U.S. Department of Commerce ruling against Chinese solar panel manufacturers tend to focus on the extremes. However, nobody seems to have read the official fact sheet.
While the light turns on and the TV starts at the push of a button, there lies a tremendous amount of effort behind a secure supply of power. Because of the demand fluctuations, specialists must calculate precisely how much power is needed and when. Weekends, for instance, when offices and stores are closed, require less energy than Mondays. And when it is gray and rainy outside, the lights get turned on earlier than on sunny days. More than anyone else, transmission grid operators have to know in time when electricity from renewable energies is being generated because they have to transport it across the country and partly market it by themselves.
The complete changeover to renewable energy requires changes in the power network infrastructure. New, small feed-ins may turn billing into rocket science, so smart meters will have to be deployed as soon as possible. In some European countries the smart meter network is almost in place.
The topic of renewable energy is not only about wind, water and sun, but also about efficiency - it’s actually easier to use ‘leftover’ power than to generate more. A recently proposed European commission directive on energy efficiency is being criticised as well as lauded - strangely, though, by the same people.
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