German Energy Transition Breaks The Energiewende Paradox

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 07/02/15

Dr. Conca reports that 2014 saw German carbon emissions fall for the first time since the big 2009-2013 emissions increase that occurred concurrently with their record renewable energy installation and nuclear phase-out, breaking the so-called Energiewende Paradox. German electricity costs are still one of the highest in the world, and their electricity production is still made primarily from coal, with a significant amount of nuclear, wind, biomass, solar, natural gas and hydro, in that order. Renewables grew exponentially from 2005 to 2012, but have slowed in the last few years even though costs continue to rise. Some think that German energy transition has turned a successful corner and that the only reason electricity prices have not dropped is that there is not enough competition in the markets (CleanTechnica). Translation - suppliers are keeping prices artificially high and ripping off ordinary consumers. But Germany is phasing out nuclear in the next several years, even though nuclear provides about 18% of their production and is still their largest low-carbon source by far. What they replace it with will determine what direction their energy transition will take. While Germany is the eighth largest coal producer in the world, it still imports significant amounts of coal from the United States. It is hard to see how Germany can avoid increasing its coal use dramatically after it phases out nuclear power. The U.S. coal industry is certainly hoping this happens as a way to help offset the decreasing coal use within the United States. So the strategy will be tricky, and that strategy will probably include a combination of continuing to increase conservation and efficiency, ramping up coal for the interim years while more renewables get installed, and increasing power imports from other countries in the European Union, particularly France. But Germany already imports over half of its energy.