Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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electricity
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fossil fuels
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Figure 4.13 Possible development of the share of renewable energy in primary energy
requirement of the transport sector in Germany.
partly being charged and driven with electricity from fossil power plants. However,
carbon dioxide emissions from these vehicles will plummet as the proportion of
renewable energies used to generate electricity increases.
Fuel-cell vehicles fuelled with renewable hydrogen will not come to the market until
some time in the future. Although considerable progress is being made in fuel-cell
technology, the structures for carbon-free production and the distribution of reason-
ably priced hydrogen are not yet in place. However, hydrogen technology will
eventually play a role in protecting the climate. It could also help to ensure that the
energy required in the road transport sector is carbon-free by the year 2050.
4.4 Reliable Supply Using Renewable Energies
Mathematically, on a yearly average renewable energies could cover the entire
energy requirement. However, many people still question how electricity supply can
be guaranteed - for example, if there is no wind blowing after the sun goes down.
In this case, none of the photovoltaic and wind power plants would be able to gener-
ate electricity.
Renewable energies can guarantee electricity supply even when fl uctuations occur
provided a balanced mix of different renewable power plants is combined intelli-
gently through a central control system (Figure 4.14). To prove this, various com-
panies from the renewable energy sector initiated a combination power plant project
in 2007.
This combination plant linked and controlled 36 wind, solar, biomass and hydro-
power plants spread out all over Germany. It satisfi ed exactly one ten-thousandth
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