Polish-German Energy Platform started!

Project that I have been developing for the past 3 years – let it be helpful for both countries to enhance mutual understanding and work together towards carbon neutrality! :-)

From the press release of dena on its website:

Deutsch-Polnische Energieplattform stärkt die europäische Energiewende

Die dena und die polnische Nationale Energieagentur KAPE starten Plattform zur grenzübergreifenden Zusammenarbeit

Die Energieagenturen der beiden Länder werden über die Plattform ihre Expertise bündeln und ihre Netzwerke zusammenschließen. Ziel ist es, zur Verständigung zwischen Polen und Deutschland beizutragen und so einen gemeinsamen Weg zur Klimaneutralität zu gestalten.

Energiegemeinschaften im Fokus

Zunächst liegt der Fokus auf Energiegemeinschaften. Gemeinsam mit Städten, Organisationen und Unternehmen beider Länder fördert die Plattform den Erfahrungsaustausch und entwickelt Projekte. Eine Energiegemeinschaft ist der Zusammenschluss lokaler Akteure zur gemeinsamen Produktion und Verwertung von Energie. Es soll analysiert werden, wie Energiegemeinschaften in beiden Ländern jeweils ausgestaltet sind und wie die Rahmenbedingungen dafür verbessert werden können. Darauf aufbauend wird untersucht, wie eine grenzübergreifende Energieregion funktionieren könnte, die Kommunen, Unternehmen und Bürgerinnen und Bürger auf beiden Seiten der Grenze zusammenbringt.

Über die Webseite www.d-p-plattform.de stellt die Deutsch-Polnische 
Energieplattform aktuelle Informationen bereit.

Report on flexibility technologies and measures in the German power system

Report written by myself and Corina Bolintineanu “Flexibility Technologies and Measures in the German Power System” was published in January this year. The analysis was published by the German Energy Agency (dena) in the framework of the Sino-German Energy Transition Project led by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) [German Society for International Cooperation] GmbH . The project supports the exchange between Chinese government think tanks and German research institutions to strengthen the Sino-German scientific exchangeon the energy transition and share German energy transition experiences with a Chinese audience.

Here the Executive Summary of the publication:

“Germany’s goal of climate neutrality is just around the corner. In order to reach it by2045, Germany will need to increase its renewable energy production and,alongwith it, its power system flexibility. For the past decades, solutions have been developed and implemented, such as the establishment of market rules that enable competitionbetween flexibility measures, along with a technology-neutral approach that ensures a broad mix of technologies and participants.

On the way to a power system based entirely on renewable energy, conventional power plants, in particular gas power plants, will continue to play a role. Today, coal-and gas-fired power plants are the mostrelevant source of flexibility in Germany. However, the phase-out of coal-fired power plants by 2038at the latest,and of nuclear power by 2022 will lead to an increased use of other flexibility options.Large-scale batteries, which are a fitting solution for providing primary control energy and for industrial applications, and small-scale batteries,which provideuser-related flexibility in private homeswill play an increasingly important role.

Flexibility will continue to be provided by biomass-and biogas-operated andpumped-storage power plants, currentlythe secondmostimportant source of flexibility. In addition, technological development as well as the phase-outof financial and regulatory barriers, particularly the double burden requiring operators to pay consumer fees twice, may trigger the use of power-to-X technologies, which are not yet widely deployedin Germany.

Price signals on the wholesale market are expected to triggerhigherdemand-side flexibility in the industry and small and medium-sized enterprises. Residential demand-side flexibility will play a greaterrole withthe gradual introduction of intelligent measuring systems (smart meters) and other digital technologies.

Last but not least, system operation regulations will need adjustments in order to increase grid flexibility.

The report provides a detailed overview of the main flexibility technologiesand measures in the German power system. While it reflects the status quo, it alsoindicatesneedsfor thedevelopment ofthe power system to reach climate neutrality and providesvaluable input for ongoing policy debates.”

The report is available on the website of the Sino-German Energypartnership as well as on the dena website.

dena’s report on PPAs

Dena’s report on PPAs and how to use them for cost-efficient extension of renewable energies, with some recommendations for China, is out! I wrote this report together with my dena’s colleague, Carolin Schenuit. Experts of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) contributed to sections describing PPA practices in the U.S.

About the report from the dena’s website:

“A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a financial mechanism that allows utilities and corporations to procure renewable energy (RE) from producers with minimal to no upfront capital cost in order to meet their RE goals.

This report comprises a literature review on the evolving practices in PPA implementation in the U.S. and Europe, including PPA types, key factors enabling PPAs, as well as challenges and limitations associated with PPA applications. Built on the experience and lessons learned from the U.S. and Europe, this report sheds light onto feasible options that could be adopted by China to enable the implementation of PPAs for RE investments.”

You may find the whole report here.

First time representing the German Energy Agency (dena)

From 27th to 29th of May I was a part of the delegation of the German Energy Agency (dena) to the 25th Energy & Environment Fair & Conference ICCI in Istanbul.

In 28th of May I took part in the meeting of the German-Turkish Working Group “Sector Coupling and Energy Infrastructure” with representatives from the Turkish Energy Ministry and gave a presentation on storage technologies in Germany, including large scale battery storage systems (BSS) and the concept of “Netzboosters” (grid boosters) (see dena’s Twitter below). On the next day I participated in the conference on storage technologies in Germany and Turkey with German and Turkish experts. 

Both events were organized jointly be the dena and the German-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was a pleasure to be a part of the organization team as well as to share with the Turkish colleagues the knowledge about current situation and developments concerning storage of energy in Germany. I have also lernt a lot about the Turkish electricity system and the role of renewables. I am looking forward to the next meeting of the Working Group in Berlin!

Third FFU book project workshop “Low-carbon Energy Transitions”

ffu-logo-final1The workshop is going to take place at the Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU) at the Free University of Berlin on 9 Mai. The title of my conference paper, presentation and working title of my chapter is: “Germany: Energiewende going local?”.

Working title of the whole book is: “Energy policy in a carbon-constrained world”.