Let us now focus on the three examples of energy conservation and energy efficiency for the solar strategy explained in the previ­ous section. Example 1: Standby power consumption In Germany, electrical appliances in offices and homes consume some 22 billion kilo­watt-hours of electricity each year,25 roughly the amount generated by four nuclear power plants. If […]

4.1 A third of the pie – space heating The construction sector plays a special role in our solar strategy because roughly a third of the final energy consumed in industrial countries such as Germany is used to heat buildings. Indeed, more energy is used to heat apartments, offices, public buildings, etc. than in the […]

Synthetic fuels made from biomass are a recent development. At present, there are only research and pilot systems. Nonetheless, hopes are high for biomass-to – liquid (BTL, also known as synfuel and sunfuel) fuels. A wide range of biomass – from wood to straw and other energy crops – is converted into a synthetic gas, […]

Germany has a number of projects for geot­hermal power production. Such projects are promising wherever hot thermal water can be obtained from underground (see 7.6).23 For example, in Neustadt-Glewe a project that draws water from 2200m underground has been in operation since 2003. The turbine used there generates 1.2 million kilo­watt-hours each year.24 In lieu […]

Every time fossil energy is burned, carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted. Along with other greenhouse gases, CO2 causes the green­house effect, which is changing our climate and increasing the average temperature on the Earth. There are basically four ways to prevent carbon emissions.9 1 Making fuel consumption more efficient and conserving energy. 2 Using fuels […]

There are generally two policy designs to promote renewable power production. The first is floor prices for power sold to the grid (see-in rates). Here, the market decides what the volume is; if the floor price is high enough, a lot is invested, but if the floor price is too low, little or nothing is […]

More efficient pumps and pump controls would save many billions of kilowatt-hours of electricity and heat in homes, businesses and industrial plants. But this change would require decision-makers to be better informed and tradespeople better trained; in addition, we would need an investment philosophy that accepts higher investment costs in return for lower operating costs.27 […]

‘Passive’ solar energy means that solar energy is used to help heat a building in the winter without any complicated technology, such as pumps, heating circuits, etc. There are basically two ways to use solar energy passively:3 1 Special components, such as windows, glass facades and transparent insulation. The type and design of the windows […]