The coal phase-out is a done deal. The large power plants are gradually being taken off the grid and are to be replaced by solar and wind power, among other things. But that could jeopardize the stability of the power supply. In the worst case, a blackout threatens. "We cannot determine when the sun will shine and when the wind will blow, but exactly as much electricity must always be produced as is consumed," explains Dr. Konstantin Wiegandt, physicist and head of algorithmic electricity trading at Europe's largest provider of renewable energy.
The central problems of the energy transition are currently still the storage of regenerative energy and the compensation of fluctuations. So far, the so-called "dark doldrums" have threatened when solar and wind power fail to work. Prof. Joachim Seifert is therefore researching decentralized solutions in the Combined Energy Lab at the TU Dresden: “Security of supply must not be played off against the energy transition. Our task is to develop techniques that meet both criteria.”
Buch und Regie : Marcel Kolvenbach, Sound und Musik: Wolfram Burgtorf