idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The SRU (German Advisory Council on the Environment) expects around 150 participants at it conference "Setting the Course for a Sustainable Electricity System". The topic will be discussed by experts from academia, policy-making and industry as well as representatives of all parliamentary groups of the German Bundestag.
"The electricity supply of the future has to be climate-friendly and sustainable", says Prof Olav Hohmeyer, member of the SRU. "Germany is faced with a 'system decision'. The necessary development of renewable energy sources is incompatible with large shares of energy supply from coal or nuclear." At the occasion of the event, the SRU has published a position paper which aims to trigger a broad political debate.
Electricity supply in Germany is faced with far-reaching decisions. A large share of today's fossil fuel-based and nuclear power stations will be taken off the grid in the coming years and has to be replaced by new capacities. These new power stations will have a life span of thirty to fifty years. The investment decisions of the next years will therefore determine the greenhouse gas emissions from electricity supply until the middle of the next century. They should not jeopardize Germany's long-term climate policy objectives.
There is a widespread belief that only a 'balanced energy mix' can guarantee the electricity supply. In reality, however, it is beginning to emerge that base load power plants based on coal and nuclear technology are not compatible with the partly strongly fluctuating electricity supply from renewable sources. Therefore, there is a need to complement intermittent renewable electricity sources with highly controllable power plants. Does the planned investment in new coal power stations lead into a fundamental conflict between different electricity systems? Will new base load power stations obstruct the further development of renewables? At the conference, the SRU wants to discuss this question and search for sustainable strategies together with participants from academia, policy and industry.
SRU considers it possible that - in the longer term - electricity demand can be fully met by renewable energy sources. To achieve this, however, it is necessary to create the appropriate infrastructure. Electricity grids have to be extended, lines for efficient long-distance transmission have to be built and storage capacities have to be provided. This re-structuring requires a strong political will.
The SRU will analyse these questions in a Special Report on the future of electricity supply in Germany. By looking at the year 2050, the SRU aims to extend the time horizon of the current energy policy debate. During today's event, the SRU wants to debate central propositions and key questions which emerge from this ongoing work.
The SRU position paper " Setting the Course for a Sustainable Electricity System" and the conference programme are available at www.umweltrat.de
For further information, please contact Dr. Christian Hey at 0049 (0) 30 26 36 96 0.
The Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) was founded in 1971 to advise the German government. The Council is made up of seven university professors from a range of different environment-related disciplines. This ensures an encompassing and independent evaluation from a natural scientific and technical as well as from an economic, legal, ethical and political science perspective.
The Council has currently the following members:
Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich (Chair), Technische Universität München; Prof. Dr. Heidi Foth (Vice Chair), Universität Halle-Wittenberg; Prof. Dr. Christian Calliess, Freie Universität Berlin; Prof. Dr. Olav Hohmeyer, Universität Flensburg; Prof. Dr. Karin Holm-Müller, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn; Prof. Dr. Manfred Niekisch, Zoologischer Garten Frankfurt; Prof. Dr. Miranda Schreurs, Freie Universität Berlin
Criteria of this press release:
Economics / business administration, Energy, Environment / ecology, Oceanology / climate, Politics
transregional, national
Scientific conferences, Transfer of Science or Research
German
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