For several years, the trend has shown clearly towards a massive expansion of renewable energies
"YES, WE CAN" Was the young Senator’s slogan Barack Obama in the US Prassidal Election Fighting 2008. It was words of hope and visions of many who in America after eight-year prasidage Georg W. Bushs and his team of cynics and lobbyists like Dick Cheney (CEO of Erdolfirma Halliburton), Donald Rumsfeld (CEO of the Pharmaceutical Company G.D. Searle Company, Father Monsanto) or John Ashcroft (in the Supervisory Board of the Security and Militar Company Constellis) in the face of a response and continued social cleavage and okological impregnation, two more lossy wars and the worst financial and economic crisis for 75 years after a new beginning longing. Obama’s solid faith and rough hope was that America can improve in dark times again and again to better. These "Culminism of hope" (The Audacity of Hope) should define his eight-year prasid.
Globally, we have experienced a fatal tension between a threatening existential climate crisis and our growing, no less fundamental energy demand, which determines the prosperity of humanity and nothing less than the standard of living of each one of us. From pages so many economic and political institutions, we are still responsible for financial and economic facts that complicate rough changes in the direction of a climate contract and at the same time secure energy supply. "What can regenerative energies can really afford?", "Is it technologically and economically possible and reasonable to convert our energy supply to you and sort into our future energy hunger climate-neutral?" it is then with a negative undertone.
"YES, WE CAN", Meanwhile, it is not only the answer of any OKO fundamentalists to these questions, but since 2001 this has been the official attitude of the German Federal Government, when the then red-green coalition has launched the energy transition, which not only wanted the CDU Government 2011 was confirmed and expanded, but has now also found internationally very strong attention and inheritance.
In the year 2020, the proportion of regenerative energies on electricity generation is meanwhile in more than one third. The most important global regenerative power source is the hydropower, the CA. 17% of the global electricity demand covers the wind energy delivered approx. 6% of the stream, the photovoltaic 5%, biomass approx. 2% and geothermal energy and other renewable forms of energy reach less than 1%. But that also means that still almost 70% of electrical energy is produced by fossil energies and nuclear energy. In the new investments, however, the picture looks very different. Today, far over 50% of the newly built capacity for global electricity generation, renewable energy carriers, comprises, and this in approximately equal parts in emerging and developing. Even if many have not at all on the radar screen: For some years, the trend has shown clearly towards a massive expansion of regenerative energies.
Two headlines in the last few days make courage that the way to regenerative energies is further accredited:
- In the first half of 2020, the share of renewable energies made more than 50 percent of electricity consumption in Germany for the first time.
- What was still unthinkable a few years ago: The Bundestag has decided the final exit from the coal.
Both developments hung together with each other. Electricity production from coal decreased by 40 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period of the previous year. An essential reason for this was the price for CO2 emissions in the EU, which has been stable for 18 months at approx. 25 euros after it is almost outdoors in the two years before and increasing coal flow production accordingly. Coal flow remains less and less pays less. Thus, the energy companies makes it easy to give up their years of resistance to the coal outward exit, especially since the German Federal Government offers you this exit with strong state aids.
The lobby of the coal corporations has done a whole job, so that their clientele deserves a golden nose at this exit. More than four billion euros are to receive coal corporations, in view of market development more than double than what is entitled to them actually as a securitization. Because far less elevation from the electricity sale and further rising costs for CO2 certificates result in a much worse future perspective for the coal flow. Unfortunately, the Federal Government reacts to the question of how she came to this amount very narrow-lipped. So it is as when exiting the nuclear power that the energy companies must be bought ocological reason expensive.
However, in all (justified) criticism of speed and costs of exiting the coal, this development is very pleasing, especially since there are oconomic trends and political will in particular: regenerative energies are becoming more cost-effective and thus competitive, which is the political decision-making Power to lay okological reason to the day that you have not yet considered at high costs for multi-energy energies.
Electricity creation costs Coarse-flat photovoltaic power plant are meanwhile with 3.5-6 CT / KWH among those of brown and hard coal (4.5-8 CT / KWH, 6.5 -10 CT / kWh), in wind and water the cost with 7.45-14 ct / kWh or. Ca.6.5 CT / kWh to the coal.
The potential of renewable energies have also recognized the international financial investors who can not be said to create their money after any idealistic principles. Almost $ 300 billion in renewable energies, they invest in renewable energies, be this wind or solar parks, new waterworks, biomass facilities or geothermal energy. The large part of the investments make PV-respondents and (onshore) wind turbulators. Especially private equity investors (in 2003 from the then SPD boss Franz Munfering still as a packed "Grasshoppers" Grilling) have discovered wind and solar parks as an attractive yield driver and meanwhile lay more than one billion euros per year "Green Energy" at. Growing technological efficiency, coupled with ever-futile financial structures to reduce financial risks, make wind and solar portfolios an attractive investment offer, it is called veterans in the industry.
China is currently the large investor in renewable energies and at the same time world market operators in the manufacture and use of wind turbines, solar cells and smart grid technologies. But also of the gross angelesian investment agents is a significant investment initiative. In the US, the TRUMP Presidency, in the Renewable Energies, were barely highly high in the third year, rather highly high in course, record investments in this. Conversely, in the two years after the takeover of the self-clarified coal fans Donald Trump, 50 coal-fired power plants have already been charmed for decommissioning. "The fate of coal is sealed, the market has spoken", say the local energy experts.
A complete decarbonization of the power supply up to 2050 is no longer a matter of technological feasibility or economic profitability. If now also good political will comes to it, the for our climate is so important energy transition nothing in the way.
Lars Jaeger studied physics, mathematics, philosophy and history and researched several years in quantum physics as well as chaos theory. He lives in the near Zurich, where he has built two own companies — as a busy lateral thinker — consulting institutional financial investors, and at the same time regular blogs on science and time-events. In September 2019 his book appeared "Trust more!"