PV modules with seaside landscape and wind turbines in the background.
International

2017 World Energy Outlook: Renewables making headway around the world

Renewables are becoming more affordable, and they are playing an ever more important role around the world. However, as stated in the latest version of the World Energy Outlook, global efforts are currently not enough – more needs to be done in order for countries to meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

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direct account

Illustration: Erneuerbare Energien, Stromnetz und Verbraucher unter einer Lupe
Research

What exactly is the Energy Research Programme?

Mankind has invented the wheel, the windmill and more recently the modern wind turbine. The Energy Research Programme is one of the reasons why we are able to generate clean electricity at ever more affordable prices. Read on to learn more about the Programme.

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Male and female engineer inspecting PV modules.
Photovoltaics

Fitting in PV modules with millimetre precision to improve their efficiency

Changing the dimensions of a photovoltaics installation in a way that improves its efficiency sounds easy, however, up until now, nobody knew what the right dimensions actually were. Now, a team of researchers has come up with the answer.

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Hildegard Müller, Board Member of innogy SE, responsible for grid and infrastructure.

Quote of the week

“We don’t have a one-way supply system like we used to in the past, when electricity was only transported from large power stations to the surrounding area. Developing a smart grid which works in both directions, so that the many distributed energy generators can feed in electricity, is a major technical challenge.”

Hildegard Müller, Board Member of innogy SE, responsible for grid and infrastructure. Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, 27 November 2017, © Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung GmbH. All rights reserved.

direct reports

  • Cost of funding for wind energy down again

    The Bundesnetzagentur has awarded funding in the third auction round for onshore wind. At an average of 3.82 ct/kWh, the funding awards are down once again compared with the figure achieved in the preceding round in August 2017. The amount up for auction was oversubscribed more than two and a half times. Almost all of the funding awards went to citizens’ energy companies. On 29 November, the Bundesnetzagentur set the maximum award for the onshore wind energy auctions in 2018 at 6.30 ct/kWh. The maximum award in 2017 had been set at 7.0 ct/kWh.

  • Go-ahead from Brussels for landlord-to-tenant electricity

    Anyone generating electricity from a solar installation on the rooftop of a residential building and supplying it to final consumers (which particularly includes tenants) living within this building or in residential buildings or ancillary facilities located within close proximity of this building will earn money for it: not only the revenue from selling the electricity, but also the “landlord-to-tenant electricity supply premium”. To be eligible for this, the solar installation must have been commissioned on or after 25 July 2017. The Act on Landlord-to-Tenant Electricity has now been approved by the European Commission under state aid rules.

  • More competition, stable electricity prices

    The number of households who have switched electricity provider reached a new record in 2016, at 4.6 million. Competition between a growing number of electricity providers is also helping to keep electricity prices stable for residential customers: on average, private consumers pay 28.86 ct/kWh, according to the joint 2017 monitoring report by the Bundesnetzagentur and the Bundeskartellamt.

  • Aldi wins Energy Efficiency Award

    Solar electricity generated in-house, energy-efficient technology and an energy management system have made the Aldi Süd group one of 12 companies from Germany, China and Viet Nam who have won the Energy Efficiency Award. The international prize is worth a total of €30,000, and the patron is Brigitte Zypries, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy (further information in German only).

  • Funding for research into energy systems analysis

    Largely due to the increasing integration of renewable energy sources, the energy system is becoming more and more complex. It is therefore important to undertake a targeted analysis of systemic interrelationships and to continue the development of the methods and tools required for this. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy will give funding to several model experiments in the field of energy systems analysis in order to foster more research and development in the area. The aim is to show how meaningful certain methods regarding specific issues are and to point out ways in which they can be improved. Project sketches for corresponding model experiments can be submitted by 18 February 2018 (further information in German only).

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