Project - Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

No. 1 - 4: Ulm to Karlsruhe, part of the long journey home: (29/5/10)

 

A lamp at the station, and two electricity pylons - German style!

 

To see Large: farm4.static.flickr.com/3393/4618156626_7451f6870e_b.jpg

 

Taken on October 17, 2007 at 14:40

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Energy in Germany

 

The energy sector in Germany is one of the biggest in the world with state of the art clean energy industry.

 

The German economy is large and developed, ranking fifth in the world by GDP (PPP). Because of this, Germany consumed the fifth most energy per capita in the world in 2004.

 

In 2002, Germany was Europe's largest consumer of electricity; electricity consumption that year totaled 512.9 billion kilowatt-hours.

 

 

Energy policy

Government policy emphasizes conservation and the development of renewable sources, such as solar, wind, biomass, water, and geothermal power. As a result of energy saving measures, energy efficiency (the amount of energy required to produce a unit of gross domestic product) has been improving since the beginning of the 1970s. The government has set the goal of meeting half the country's energy demands from alternative energy by 2050. Germany is the fourth largest producer of nuclear power in the world, but in 2000 the government and the German nuclear power industry agreed to phase out all nuclear power plants by 2021. However, renewable energy is playing a more modest role in energy consumption.

 

 

Electricity

The main source of electricity still remains coal. The recent plan to build 26 new coal plants is controversial in light of Germany's commitment to curbing emissions. Lignite is extracted in the extreme western and eastern pars of the country, mainly in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen and Brandenburg. Considerable amounts are burned in coal plants near to the mining areas, to produce electricity. Transporting lignite over far distances is not economically feasible, therefore the plants are located practically next to the extraction sites. Bituminous coal is mined in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saarland. Most power plants burning bituminous coal operate on imported material, therefore the plants are located not only near to the mining sites, but throughout the country. Germany is the world’s largest operators of non-hydro renewables capacity in the world, including the world’s largest operator of wind generation.

 

 

Consumption

Germany is one of the largest consumers of energy in the world. In 2009, it consumed energy from the following sources:

 

Oil ..........................................34.6%

Bituminous coal.................. 11.1%

Lignite ...................................11.4%

Natural gas ..........................21.7

Nuclear power........ ............11.0%

Hydro- and wind power.... 1.5%

Others ..................................9.0%

 

Renewable energy is far more present in the domestically produced energy, since Germany imports about two thirds of its energy.

 

Germany is the fifth largest consumer of oil in the world. Russia, Norway, and the United Kingdom are the largest exporters of oil to Germany, in that order.

 

Germany is the third largest consumer of natural gas in the world. Because of its location at the center of Europe, Germany is the fourth largest consumer of coal in the world. Germany has the largest market of electricity in Europe.

Wikipedia

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

Done