Germany has too many solar panels, and it's pushed energy prices into negative territory
Germany has too many solar panels, and it's pushed energy prices into negative territory
Germany has installed a record number of solar panels. But consumers aren't starting to use them fast enough.
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No. That’s like saying the UK has too much wind power because our prices occasionally go negative. What Germany might not have enough of is battery and other storage
Did you know that the best way we currently have to store energy are dams? In most dams you can install a pump to take water and store it higher, then when energy is needed you simply open the turbine.
The problem with dams or pumped storage is it only works in specific places where you have a higher place to put lots of water.
Yep! I suppose we could build a huge Tank or something XD
Decommissioned mines can be used as gravity batteries.
I would be all for that, but I think a lot of smaller tanks of compressed air might be better or easier.
A dam would be a huge natural tank. I can't think of a similar structure that is safe enough to prevent widespread destruction.
Seems like dams should only be used in those situations then...
You need a certain kind of landscape for that. I think the UK only has a couple of pumped storage power stations due to lack of suitable sites
Pretty sure geographically germany still has a few nice spots for it. Allgau, Schwarzwald, Pfälzerwald ...
It's just all these damn people with their damn towns and livelyhoods that are in the way.
Hydrogen and Methane Power-to-gas can store more power for longer than hydro pump
I’m not sure why you’re getting downvoted, but companies are looking to use hydrogen fuel cells for 18 wheelers for just this reason. They won’t have to stop for gas even on long trips because the energy density is very high and the weight is less.
Here are a few charts about it from the DOE: https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/articles/fuel-cell-and-battery-electric-vehicles-compared
The downvotes are because almost all of the global hydrogen production is made either with natural gas, as a byproduct of oil drilling or through coal.
In its current state, it is a fake green product pushed by the oil industry to hamper the transition.
Ah - that makes sense, thank you. You’re correct, but I work in the aerospace industry with hydrogen fuel cells and green hydrogen is all I’m familiar with, but I realize now that this was bias on my part.
Is hydrolysis not cost-effective? If we have excess electricity, as in this case, can we not use that to get hydrogen?
On the recent lemmy topic of using up votes and down votes incorrectly.
Literally just stating a verifiable fact, not in support or against the technology, and I get down voted lol.
huh i hadn't heard of this one? I went to a dam last year and that's what the guide told us...
I think it's the physical size of the reservoir that is the limiting factor. You can't reasonable expand most reservoirs, but it's relatively easy to create new hydrogen/methane storage tanks.
Yes but pumped storage is about 80% round trip efficiency vs power to x which is barely touching 20% out of the lab. And power to X needs an epic fuckton of very clean water, which also isn’t easy to find.
At huge inefficiency loss though. Denmark is probably further with this than anywhere else in the world and even they are sputtering on getting this going.
Seems like a great profit opposite grid storage!