Safely through the Dark doldrums

Fuels

Development of fuels and storage facilities to cover the residual load 

With time come more storage in the electricity system. At the same time, the fuels used are becoming increasingly sustainable.

One Overview of the various technologies and when and how they should be used to get through the dark doldrums safely can be found on the new info website "Safely through the dark doldrums".

A look into the future 

Today - energy supply is secure

When in Germany little wind blowing and no sun is shining, comes the Necessary protection to a large extent from fossil sources such as natural gas and coal. But Renewable energies are also strongly represented in the grid. Taking over in a dark doldrums Hydropower and bioenergy (biomethane, biogas, waste) already one important role. Where gaps remain, engines or turbines based on natural gas and coal step in. Pumped storage and first battery storage are increasingly helping with this, bridge short-term bottlenecks. The Batteries finance themselves from the market out, as a supplement to photovoltaics in summer. These storage units are available to the system even during a dark doldrums. Reserves are also available in the form of coal and natural gas power plants. There is also the European electricity marketin which mutually secured and which reduces costs.

Tomorrow - More storage and fuel switching

Coal-fired power plants will gradually exit the market in the coming years. Nevertheless, there will still be coal-fired power plants as Reserve power plants give. Dozens of gigawatts of battery storage will be added in the coming years. As will load flexibility (e.g. cold stores or heat pumps) the storage systems reduce the residual load in times of electricity price peaks considerably. Storage systems are charged at times of low residual load, such as at night, and flexibilities are prepared for their next use. The vThe remaining residual load generation in 2030 will also be through

Engines and turbines produced. In addition to the natural gas-fired power plants that are still in operation, this is preferably achieved with Biomass in biogas plants and waste as fuel. Biomethane and, if necessary, natural gas can also be used in these engines and turbines, and natural gas storage facilities are already large today. The more Biogas plants flexibilised the fewer new gas-fired power plants are necessary. Energy is also increasingly being shifted from weeks with high generation to weeks with lower generation, e.g. in Heat storage of heating networks or via renewable gas storage (biomethane).

The day after tomorrow - lots of storage facilities, CO2-neutral fuels

The fossil natural gas is only a transition and will be in the 2030s increasingly replaced by other gases. Here the further Flexibilisation of biogas play a role. Biomethane is used for the dark doldrums in already existing Long-term storage stored. In addition Gradual hydrogen - ideally from renewable energy sources. The hydrogen is mainly produced during the summer months when the sun is shining. The Dischargers are motors and turbinespossibly also fuel cells.

In the summer months Long-term heat storage systems reduce the need for power generation capacity in the dark doldrums. Short-term electricity storage and flexibilisation carry the residual load peaks during dark doldrums. It is also possible that Long-term power storage play a role. Some corresponding technologies are already under development