Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

But that’s a false dichotomy. Renewables are already good enough and are still getting better.



I am just not sure. Looking at todays German energy mix, renewables provide about 20% of the load. There isn’t much wind or sun at the moment.

The rest is Gas, which has become very expensive this winter. And Coal.

We would need to invest into power-to-gas like crazy if we wanted any shot of providing a base load.


"Coal is the second-largest source of electricity in Germany. As of 2020, around 24% of the electricity in the country is generated from coal. This was down from 2013, when coal made up about 45% of Germany's electricity production (19% from hard coal and 26% from lignite)." - Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Germany#:~:text=Coal...). )

But sadly it went slightly up from 24% to 24,5% in 2020 (don't have the source at hand right now for this second statistic).


> already good enough

Are they? I was under the impression they required some sort of subsidy and/or restrictions on natural gas production to be competitive.


Depends on the market. You are probably talking about Northern America, with cheap fracking gas which is slowly coming to an end.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: