In mid-October 2019, the German government adopted a new ordinance for innovative tendering procedures. The main aim is to complement the expansion of renewables-based electricity with storage to ensure stable grid operation. The new tenders are to be available for bidding next year: Support will be provided for installations combining fluctuating and predictable renewable energy sources, such as wind power with biomass or photovoltaics with power storage.
These new projects are intended to ensure a steady supply of electricity and thus stabilise the electricity grid in order to replace more and more fossil fuel-based power plants. The highest bid for such combined installations is currently 7.5 euro cents per kilowatt hour. Without combination, the maximum bid would be only three cents per kilowatt hour. Another proposal in the government plan is to introduce a fixed market premium for green energy for the first time. The idea originally stems from the funding of combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The industry association BEE warns against unnecessary costs in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) for the fixed market premium, compared to power plants with a variable market premium.
Innovative concepts are crucial for a carbon-neutral energy world that we must move towards ever faster. This is another reason why companies themselves are looking for solutions: At the end of the first day at the Forum New Energy World, a panel of leading industry experts will discuss what the future energy supply could look like in a business game. Ultimately, there is to be a roadmap that points the way to a completely digital and renewables-based energy world – if possible by 2030. (nhp/mfo)
