The development of sustainable energy on land is at risk of coming to a standstill, according to a mid-year update from the regional energy strategies (RES). The 2030 target of at least 35 terawatt hours (TWh) of renewable energy on land will likely be met. However, the more ambitious goal of 55 TWh is increasingly out of reach.
  • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    The Netherlands has a huge grid capacity issue, but there are two much more relevant problems stopping the growth of renewable power: space and the fact that the earth is round.

    The Netherlands is the most densely populated large country in Europe. Wind turbines take up quite a bit of space, and we’ve got a very large part of the country covered with stuff already. There isn’t much room for new wind parks. There is also a steady expansion there already, and we don’t have unlimited will turbine builders either.

    The problem with solar is that we already have a lot of solar. Solar panels all produce the most power at the same time, which often causes an excess of electricity turning the price negative, meaning producers will turn their plants off. So a solar park will stop producing exactly when it would have been most profitable otherwise. This means the return on investment is significantly lower, below other safe investments, so people will just invest elsewhere…

    And private solar panels suffer from the same issue,along energy companies charge extra to compensate for fixed-rate contracts, making them much less financially appealing for people.

      • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        5 days ago

        Battery parks are definitely the new hot thing, but it takes a long time to get enough capacity that you can take the entire solar peak on a sunny day

        • Gsus4@mander.xyzEnglish
          2·
          5 days ago

          Yes, but I imagine that with mass production the panel will be more expensive than the corresponding 1-full-day storage batteries, it’s just a matter of producing them in parallel (or even better, as a single unit), rather than panels first and storage later. This is why you have the mismatch. Which is what makes this decay in sustainable energy investment so puzzling.