On behalf of 50Hertz, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and Fraunhofer IEG have prepared a study on the renewable baseload required by industrial energy consumers.
The aim of the report was to develop a concept for an energy-intensive industrial company that includes a 24/7 real-time supply of renewable electricity and that can be implemented well before 2030.
The study found that 7.6MW of renewables capacity is needed to provide 1MW of green baseload.
In Germany this could be mainly supplied by renewables and a mix of short- and long-term energy storage.
The analysis also found that costs for baseload power supply should ideally not exceed 10 cents/KWh.
“A climate-neutral and cost-effective power supply is already a decisive location factor for industry,” said 50Hertz chief executive Stefan Kapferer.
“The good news for northeastern Germany is that the further increase in the share of renewable energies can become a real growth engine for the region.
“At 50Hertz, we are aware of our responsibility when it comes to integrating renewables into the grid infrastructure and rapidly connecting new industrial consumers.
“As a transmission system operator, we therefore also want to work with industry partners to develop sustainable concepts to drive forward the energy transition and economic growth in our control area.”
Mario Ragwitz from Fraunhofer IEG and BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg added: “With an increasing proportion of climate-neutral energy in the portfolio under consideration for the baseload supply of an industrial company, the demand for long-term storage increases considerably.
“With a completely climate-neutral power supply, storage systems currently account for 45% of total costs.
“Above all, the last 2% of CO2 neutrality cause significant cost increases.
“The good news is that 10 cents for electricity costs are possible with a CO2-neutral 24/7 power supply if the costs for long-term storage continue to fall, the flexibility potential for electricity demand is increased and further systemic flex options are taken into account.”
The next step is to plan how the concept can be put into practice together with industrial companies. 50Hertz is in talks with potential partners to this end.