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Ampel-Monitor Energiewende Shows the Pace of the Energy Transition Must Be Accelerated Significantly

The so-called traffic light coalition is facing a challenge: it has set ambitious energy policy targets, but can only achieve them if the pace of the energy transition is increased significantly. To contribute to the current energy policy debate, the Ampel-Monitor Energiewende (Monitor of the Traffic Light Coalition’s Energy Transition Targets) was developed at DIW Berlin. Based on open data, the Ampel-Monitor ...

Expanding Solar Energy Capacity to Power the Transition to Heat Pumps

Increasing the use of heat pumps is an important measure for reducing carbon emissions in the heating sector as well as natural gas imports. This report uses an electricity sector model to investigate the effects of an accelerated expansion of the heat pump stock on the German electricity sector in 2030. Adding around six million heat pumps would increase electricity demand by nine percent in 2030; ...

Electric Vehicles: Charging into the Future

Electric vehicle drives offer a number of advantages over conventional internal combustion engines, especially in terms of lower local emissions, higher energy efficiency, and decreased dependency upon oil. Yet there are significant barriers to the rapid adoption of electric cars, including the limitations of battery technology, high purchase costs, and the lack of recharging infrastructure. With intelligently ...

Energy and Climate Policy: USA Continues to Trail behind, Despite Positive Change

In the course of current climate negotiations, the world is watching the United States in particular. Together with China, the U.S. is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Real progress in protecting the global climate requires substantial action on America's part. The U.S. has the potential to significantly reduce emissions. Per capita energy consumption in the U.S. is still about twice ...

Methane: A Neglected Greenhouse Gas

Methane is a greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide. This is entirely unwarranted. Being 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere, methane accounts for about one-sixth of all anthropogenic (i.e. human-induced) greenhouse gas emissions. Methane is also overlooked when it comes to taking concrete measures for climate protection, despite ...

Power from the Desert: Not a Mirage

Energy policy is confronted by two major challenges. First, fossil fuels will become ever more scarce and expensive in coming years, a trend which will intensify conflicts for the control of natural resources. Second, the burning of fossil fuels-particularly coal-is leading to an increase in harmful greenhouse gas emissions. To address these challenges, the share of renewable energy in total energy ...

Decentralized Storage Installations Should Be Available for Further Market Interaction: Five Questions for Wolf-Peter Schill

Decentralized Solar Prosumage with Battery Storage: System Orientation Required

Starting from a low level, in recent years the battery-supported self-consumption of solar electricity (solar prosumage) has grown significantly in Germany. Its growth is primarily due to the opposing trends in household electricity prices and feed-in tariffs in conjunction with government incentives for battery storage. Various benefits of solar prosumage speak to its positive potential in the German ...

Electric Mobility Should Be Linked to an Additional Expansion of Renewables: Six Questions to Wolf-Peter Schill

Electromobility in Germany: CO2 Balance Depends on Charging Electricity

The German government plans to significantly increase the deployment of electric vehicles. What impact would this have on the country’s power system and carbon emissions? This question was addressed as part of a European research project analyzing various scenarios up to 2030. One of the key findings of the study is that total annual power consumption of the four to five million electric vehicles (depending ...