German energy transition will fail

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The energy transition will fail because of wind energy 15. November 2020 von Kalte Sonne In terms of energy policy, the goals of the German energy transition are simple: after the phase-out of nuclear energy by 2022, coal will be phased out by 2035, while oil and gas will be abandoned entirely by 2050. The energy for electricity, heat, mobility and industrial processes in climate-neutral Germany should be supplied by wind energy, solar energy and a few percent of hydropower and biomass, at least according to the plans of the federal government, which are supported by all major social actors.

Is this realistic? Today wind and photovoltaics supply a little less than 30% of the 600 terawatt hours of electricity (1 terawatt hour Twh is 1 billion kilowatt hours Kwh). 126 Twh is provided by wind energy and 46 Twh by photovoltaics. For 600 TWh, 439 TWh of wind and 161 TWh of solar are required with the same mix. For the sake of simplicity, we assume that this amount of electricity should be generated with the largest systems, namely 5 megawatt systems, which are placed at a distance of 1000 m. With an annual degree of utilization of 25%, a system produces an average of 5 MW x 0.25 x 8760 (hours) = 10950 MWh = 0.01095 Twh. For 439 Twh you need 40,000 systems. An area of 200 km x 200 km is required for this.

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But we are not finished yet. The wind energy is produced when the wind is blowing, not when the consumer needs it. With a power supply in Germany based solely on volatile sources, 36% of the electricity generated annually can be used directly ( source: Dr. Ahlborn ). The rest is excess electricity that needs to be stored. For economic reasons, storage in hydrogen is the only option here. A gigantic number of electrolyzers must be set up for this.

However, it is completely uneconomical to dimension the capacity according to the extreme peaks of strong wind events, which is why around 12% of the wind energy must be limited. This leaves 52% of the electricity generated that can be stored in hydrogen. Due to the electrolysis of hydrogen, storage / methanation and reconversion, only 15.6% of the 52% remain. The chain generates a loss of 2/3 of the amount of electricity used. 36% plus 15.6% result in approx. 50% of the generated wind power that can be used. So we need twice as many systems. The area for the 80,000 wind turbines is 80,000 km², which corresponds to an area of 283 km x 283 km.

In favor of the energy transition planners, we assume that the traffic can actually be carried out by battery-powered cars, which can reasonably be doubted. Converting heavy goods traffic, shipping or air traffic to electricity is an adventure. It is more likely that synthetic fuels will have to be used here. But here too the electricity balance is devastating. As Detlef Ahlborn was able to show, the Frankfurt airport alone consumed 14.7 million liters of kerosene per day before Corona, which is the equivalent of 4.3 million tons per year. 4.3 million tons of kerosene correspond to an energy value of 47 Twh. If you wanted to synthesize kerosene from electricity with the help of hydrogen (assumed efficiency 50%), 100 Twh of electricity would be required. Almost as much for Frankfurt Airport alonehow German wind energy generates today (126 Twh).

In favor of the advocates of the energy transition, we assume that all traffic can be carried out with electricity and thus only a quarter of the amount of energy consumed today of 600 Twh is required (since electricity cars are more efficient by this factor). But we also want to drive when the wind isn't blowing. Therefore, as shown above, most of this electricity has to be routed via the hydrogen, storage and re-conversion chain, so that the electricity requirement doubles: 300 Twh. We also assume that the current heat requirement of 1200 Twh can also be reduced to a quarter through electrification (heat pump), so that here too, due to the necessary 2

intermediate storage of wind power via hydrogen, the necessary doubling of wind energy leads to 600 Twh. If you use synthetic gas from wind power, hydrogen, gas directly, the yield is even worse, as the efficiency of the heat pump is no longer available. In the best-case scenario, traffic and heat lead to a wind power requirement of 900 Twh. This results in a space requirement of another 80,000 km², so that we have arrived at 160,000 km².

But we're not done yet, because the hardest part is still unsolved. According to industry estimates (www.in4climate.nrw), process emissions from the steel, chemical and cement industries (10% of CO2 emissions) require 600 Twh. This is easy to understand if you remember the example of Frankfurt Airport above. And plastics, pharmaceuticals, insulation materials, paints, varnishes, adhesives, detergents and cleaning agents can then only be produced using CO2 plus hydrogen. The replacement of industrial CO2 emissions thus leads to another 55,000 km² of wind power plants, so that we have arrived at 215,000 km². 2/3 of Germany are now equipped with 200 meter high wind turbines at a distance of 1000m, regardless of whether there is a city, a river or a motorway, whether there is a forest,there is a lake or a nature reserve.

Can we, can politics imagine such a Germany?

If you want to know what impact large numbers of wind power plants have on the extinction of birds of prey, bats and the decline of insects, you can read about this in our book “Unwuenschte Truths”. There he also finds the hidden fact that wind farms lead to considerable warming in their area of action of around 0.5 ° Celsius, as the rotating blades of the wind power plants compensate for the strong temperature gradient at night and shovel warmer air back to the ground. Numerous studies show that the soils in the wind fields are drying out considerably.

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But politicians refuse to discuss the environmental impact of a massive expansion of wind power plants. The German Bundestag recently decided that the so-called suspensive effect of objection and contestation does not apply to lawsuits against systems that are higher than 50 meters. In this way, Germany can be made into a single large wind field without annoying contradictions.

Needless to say, we are talking about astronomical costs. Electrolysers and power-to-gas systems cannot be operated free of charge. From today's perspective, a ten times higher electricity price must be expected. Everyone can imagine the consequences for jobs and prosperity.

Sincerely yours, Fritz Vahrenholt There is plenty of snow in Germany in the winter.

Trees, bushes, agriculture, flower gardens thrive in Germany. Here a garden in Witten-Herbede.

Germany has wonderful climate and thousands of kilometers of wonderful bike paths from Hamburg to Bodensee, from Aachen to Dresden.

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German nuclear power plant Gundremmingen. It protects the environment. Does not kill lots of birds. Nothing could be better now. Advanced nuclear power technologies from German companies will be even better and can help the whole world. The same applies for Canada, France, and Switzerland. In the United States, anti-modern-world alarmists, their politicians, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are obstacles.

New German coal fired electric generating plants are extremely clean with the most modern environmental technologies.

Man-made global warming alarmists, and anti-fossil fuels and anti-nuclear power zealots must not be allowed to control the world. China and Russia do not tolerate them.

Those countries are making real economic progress with plentiful, reliable energy from fossil fuels and nuclear power.

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