Renewable Revolution

03 May 2017 | Sören Amelang, Benjamin Wehrmann


Tags: Energiewende ⦁   Fossil fuels ⦁ Renewables
Agora Energiewende


German coal plants on last Sunday contributed the lowest amount of electricity to the country’s power mix ever recorded in recent times, energy think tank Agora Energiewende* said in a press release. Power production from coal and lignite plants stood at just 8 gigawatt (GW) at the lowest point, while power production from renewables peaked at over 55 GW on the sunny and windy Sunday, according to the think tank. Nuclear plants reduced their production to 5 GW, it added. Solar, wind and other renewable power production on average stood at nearly 36 GW during the weekend, equaling about 64 percent of German power consumption, Agora Energiewende explained. “Constellations like this will be perfectly normal in 2030,” the think tank’s head Patrick Graichen said, adding that “inflexible power plants no longer will have a place in the power system as they only spoil the prices”.





Tags: Solar Technology Utilities
E.ON


Germany’s largest utility E.ON has struck a partnership with Google to expand its renewable energy business. E.ON will introduce Google’s solar platform Sunroof in Germany, the company said in a press release. The platform uses data from Google Earth to help homeowners to calculate savings from installing rooftop solar panels. Households can then directly order products such as PV modules from E.ON.
Find background on E.ON in the CLEW factsheet E.ON shareholders ratify energy giant's split.



Tags: Cars Transport
Spiegel Online


Hamburg is the first German city to ban older diesel cars from main thoroughfares all year round to improve local air quality, reports Nils-Viktor Sorge for Spiegel Online. Even though only two roads are affected, the decision “has a highly symbolic significance. The discussion about possible driving bans has already sent shockwaves to the car industry”, writes Sorge.

A survey revealed this week that only two in five diesel car drivers plan to stick with the technology when buying their next car. Stuttgart, the home of carmakers Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, said earlier this year it would ban older diesel cars in the city centre when pollution is heavy from 2018.

Tags: Business & Jobs Cars Technology

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung


https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/sun-and-wind-squeeze-coal-power-record-low-eon-google-team .