BERLIN (AP) -- Will next week's partial solar eclipse turn off the lights in Germany?
Experts say the
country's electricity grid, which relies increasingly on renewable
energy, faces a crucial test on the morning of March 20, when the moon
will pass in front of the sun and block up to 82 percent of its light
across Germany.
This partial eclipse will
cause a sudden drop and then a surge in solar-generated power that will
have to be balanced out to avoid instability in the grid, Germany's
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems said Friday.
Scientists
at the Freiburg-based institute ran simulations showing that
conventional power plants and hydroelectricity pump-storage facilities
should be able to cushion the impact of the eclipse.
They
found that the strain on the grid would be greatest on a sunny day -
such as March 20, 2014 - when the drop and subsequent rebound would be
strongest. Grid operators have likened the effect to 12 large power
plants being switched off and 19 being switched on in a short space of
time.
If the weather is overcast, the impact should be negligible, the Fraunhofer institute found.
Solar
power from some 1.4 million installations contributed almost 6 percent
to Germany's energy mix last year, but is set to rise steadily as
Europe's biggest economy strives to meet 80 percent of its energy needs
from renewable sources by 2050. Germany currently gets almost 26 percent
of its electricity from renewables, including solar, wind, biomass and
hydroelectric plants.
The upcoming eclipse
will help grid operators plan for the next comparable event in 2026,
when Germany expects to have shuttered its nuclear power stations.
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