Germany Produces Excess Energy

Germany has been known recently for a dramatic increase in the use of wind and solar energy. For a short while on a sunny and windy day (May 8th), they generated so much energy that they had to pay people to use the excess. It was ironic that the negative electricity prices were caused by coal and nuclear power plants. Solar and wind are dynamic and can be turned on and off easily. Coal and nuclear plants can’t; so, when solar and wind peaked, they could be dialed back, but the coal and nuclear plants couldn’t. Excess electricity was produced. It had to go somewhere; so, they created a demand by dropping the price to negative. A mix is good, but we’ve yet to find the right balance.

(Click on the graph for the link.)

“Germany Had So Much Renewable Energy…” – Quartz