| German power plant lobby sees tighter supply by 2023 |
| While conventional fossil fuels capacity may fall to 75,300 MW by that stage, the energy regulator works on the assumption that maximum power demand can reach 81,800 MW, risking problems because power cannot be stored to large extents. |
New Delhi: German power companies see a potential gap between conventional electricity supply and demand by the early 2020s, urging policymakers to help investors plan better by rewarding conventional capacity and speeding power grid expansions.
"Existing overcapacity will not just disappear completely within a few years, what's more worrying is that we will run into undersupply of secure capacity by 2023 with our eyes open," Stefan Kapferer, managing director of the German energy industry association BDEW, said.
Germany, Europe's largest economy, may retire 18,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity capacity by 2023 while probably adding 4,400 MW, the group said.
While conventional fossil fuels capacity may fall to 75,300 MW by that stage, the energy regulator works on the assumption that maximum power demand can reach 81,800 MW, risking problems because power cannot be stored to large extents.
The lobby issued its statement at a news conference on the first day of the Hannover Messe trade fair, the showcase for Germany's industry.
It stressed it did not want to conjure up the image of system breakdowns. Germany's renewable power capacity has reached a level of around 100,000 MW.
The problem is that while this can theoretically meet 100 percent of demand under favourable weather conditions, once the weather turns, there can be next to no green power. |
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