In the domestic and abroad, is key to the development of renewable energy energy storage

"We this technology need, if we want to change Germany's energy, to make a success," said Center for solar energy and hydrogen research Specht, a head of the Department on the ZSW last month on a tour of the plant, where the energy storage unit is based. "The question is not, it will be provided, but when."
Woodpecker is one of an army of researchers to the technological challenges of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel decision to abandon to overcome nuclear power and shift to renewable energies in the largest energy infrastructure revision since the second world war. Your task is to fill the energy gap if within a decade Atomic plants which makes 20 percent of the German early last year were offline.

As executives from EON AG, Siemens AG to go join government officials, discussing impact of energy today at a Conference in Berlin, the challenge for Merkel, who burn lights and energy is affordable to keep. There is a risk that its energy policy is a second crisis fuels, such as with turbulence from Greece is that rages in the euro region.
"The energy overhaul an epic project that will cover many decades", said Claudia Kemfert, Chief energy expert at the Berlin DIW economic Institute. Estimates at least 200 billion euro ($250 billion) of public and private investment needed nuclear are more than 10 years to compensate. If Merkel manages smart it put "economic advantages, to increase competiveness and to create jobs," Kemfert said.

Election year

The alternative is Europe's largest economy and higher prices for energy disorder. With the plans for the accelerated construction of the unpopular power lines and consumers warned to expect to pay an election year for renewable energy in 2013 steeper bills energy policy sees the euro crisis as theme campaign between Merkel State to join and a third term in Office.

The opposition Social Democrats and the Green Party, which the nuclear phase out in 2002, when working in coalition together, accuse commitment lack their Government for the project after his sudden conversion to renewable energy after the tsunami and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in Japan. They say, Merkel not far or fast is enough, and give their blessing for some new coal-fired plants, she preferred utilities interests of the consumer and the renewable energy industry.

'Follow'

Peter Altmaier, the Minister for the overhaul is getting open right there on the high-stakes. Failure to deliver "Significant consequences for prosperity, growth and employment would have," he said in a Aug. 16-statement.

Almost 18 months after Merkel announced, that she was Germany's nuclear plants 2022, shuttering financed if its energy policy head, the Government research boom to ensure that that power outages in Germany not through Indian-style. EON and RWE AG, Germany's two largest utilities are the companies on board, after a combined 26.80 billion wiped their share value in the last year as they were forced, overhaul its measures to reduce the losses from reactors early close.

Research focuses on a large disadvantage of renewable energies: in contrast to nuclear energy, solar panels and wind turbines make consumers without electricity when the wind is not blowing or the Sun not shine. This makes key for their use to store energy.
Sixty energy storage have awarded projects for a total of EUR 200 million in research grants by 2014. The Government is also mobilizing the State-owned bank KfW banking group, to provide low-interest loans for memory projects.

'No way round'

"Current memory really the Holy Grail for the German energy transformation", said Dieter Manz, Chief Executive Officer of Manz AG, a German company interested in battery system, in an interview. "There is no way around it around if we want to make things work."

This is where comes the Woodpecker box in Stuttgart, Germany. It consumes a greenhouse gas, which then can the blame for global warming, to convert water into methane stored in underground caves for days or weeks in gas plants if carbon dioxide and electricity burned.

Volkswagen AG luxury car Division builds Audi 6 megawatt industrial medium-sized plant based on the technology, which is due to start from next year. EON has invested at least EUR 5 million in the electricity-gas approach and started with the construction of a pilot plant on the 21 August.
Other government-funded research projects include a test system renewable generators with storage facilities and consumers on the North Sea Island of Pellworm and the study of chemical batteries combine with computer technology, which are larger and have a longer lifetime than the lithium-ion batteries.

Flexible plates

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute in Freiburg work on longer-term projects, of flexible solar panels to high-speed charging stations for electric cars, one day as a battery for the national grid could act.

The overhaul is growing markets for domestic manufacturers including the Solarworld AG, as well as for their foreign counterparts such as Vestas Wind systems a / s, the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines.

All amounts to "A significant innovation wave within the German economy, strengthening our position on the world market for the next 20 or 30 years can," Altmaier said last month.
Altmaier, 54, a practice familiar and former parliamentary whip for Merkel's, appointed Environment Minister in may after his predecessor, Merkel Norbert Rottgen, in the midst of reports that he was not listening party industry concerns and opposition claims that were targets to slip.

Green objections

Forged the Greens and Social Democrats, whose original Plan give up nuclear power under Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was removed by Merkel in 2010, then again six months later after Fukushima, they accuse of mismanaging the task. Juergen Trittin, co-leader who has green, calls Chancellor push ambitious renewable energy instead of cutting subsidies, say that the entire project "in danger."

The average German budget may numbers 175 euro next year, renewable energy, an increase of 40 percent, according to Stephan Kohler, to subsidize joint venture by the Government Director of the Energy Agency Dena, a researcher. Which prompts, "one heck of a current price debate," said Kohler reporters Aug. 22.
The share of electricity produced from renewable energy sources to at least 35 per cent is now to Germany until the end of the Decade by at least 25 percent. United Kingdom aims about 30 percent by 2020, while Sweden, Austria, and Spain, of which resources have any richer hydroelectric power station, have promised to improve Germany's share. The United States have no orders from the Confederation for renewable energy.

Merkel, whose constituency on the Baltic Sea coast, an offshore wind farm consisting of from 21 looks Siemens turbines EnBW Energie Baden-Wurttemberg AG, the energy transition "a Herculean task." says
But it said "can be an example for other Nations show them that you can be successful," she June 25 in a speech. "It is possible to go the way to a sustainable energy supply."

Copyright 2012 Bloomberg.
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