Power supply bottlenecks

Author: Mario Schmidtgen
Date: 06.09.2019

Germany misses targets

According to an analysis by management consultants McKinsey, Germany is missing its targets for the energy revolution. The McKinsey energy turnaround index also shows that the security of energy supply is endangered after the withdrawal from nuclear energy and coal.

German CO2 emissions were 866 million tons in 2018. This is around 116 million tons above the target for 2020. If development continues in the same way, the targets for 2020 will be reached eight years later and those for 2030 even with 16 years delay.

Most of the savings were achieved through electricity generation. The heating sector accounts for a smaller share.

According to the expert Thomas Vahlenkamp, “around 43 percent of the secured power will come from the grid” in the next ten years. Despite the progress made, this would lead to power supply problems.

It was predicted that 17 gigawatts of additional capacity would be needed by 2030 to rule out decommissioning and fluctuations.

If this is not the case, the first bottlenecks could already occur in the middle of the decade. These could worsen by 2030. In order to avoid imminent risks, flexible power plants would have to be built in addition to the expansion of renewable energies, and existing power plants would have to be maintained as a reserve.