August once again proved to be a weak month in terms of wind. “Production was only around 73 per cent of the expected volume“, says Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group. “In terms of solar power, however, Germany and Spain exceeded expectations; only Italy was weaker due to the weather.“ This showed once again that electricity and wind complement each other well, but that base load capacity still needs to be established through storage.

It was also very helpful that the Federal Network Agency developed and published a new model for the distribution of electricity grid fees. ”Previously, connection costs were one of the factors that slowed down the expansion of wind and solar parks”, says Voigt. ”Some municipalities were reluctant to do so because even more green electricity would increase the grid fees even more for citizens and companies in the region. And because some authorities see storage facilities as production sites and therefore significantly increase the connection fees, only a few storage facilities have been built.” The new regulation of electricity grid fees will reduce the burden on households and companies in regions with a lot of renewable energy, which should ensure greater approval.

Grid expansion and storage expansion are also crucial for the base load capacity of renewables. ”The amount of electricity produced is increasing, distribution is being tackled, now we need storage facilities, then the energy transition can succeed completely”, says Voigt. 

In August, the grids were not under any particular strain, at least from wind power. aream's target achievement for the month was 72.98 per cent. aream solar power, on the other hand, achieved a target achievement of around 102 per cent in Germany and even 104 per cent in Spain. ”In Germany, curtailments prevented a better result”, says Voigt. Italy was weaker for aream with around 88 per cent target achievement, which was due to the weather as well as individual faulty systems.