Germany: the day they paid to consume energy

Renewable energies in Germany reached a generation record last Sunday, May 8: around 1:00 p.m., solar, wind, hydro and biomass energy supplied 55 GW of the 63 GW that were consumed, that is that is, 87% of consumption, according to data provided by Quartz. Last year, on average, renewables produced 33% of the energy in the Teutonic country. This fact, caused by a sunny and windy day, caused the electricity prices to be negative for a few hours; producers paid for their electricity to be consumed.

This fact is not as positive as it seems, some critics argue that the daily spikes and fluctuations of renewables make it difficult for them to supply industrialized economies. A few weeks ago we talked about the need to adapt the energy system to renewables, a field in which Ingeteam leads a European project. Along this path, Germany plans that by 2050 100% of its energy will come from renewable sources, something that its neighbor Denmark already achieves at times. Danish wind turbines generate more power than the country consumes at some peaks, with the surplus being sold to Germany, Sweden and Norway.