Consequences for a completely decarbonised energy supply for Germany

This paper examines the consequences of the transformation of Germany's energy supply into electricity from wind power and photovoltaics. The consequences result from the two most important properties - low energy density and volatile production. The analysis is carried out by extrapolating real production data from the period 2010 to 2016, with the first step focusing on the technology change for pure electricity production, and the second on the presentation of the total final energy within the framework of so-called sector coupling. The main results are that renewable energies alone do not allow a strongly reduced final energy consumption to be achieved and that storage facilities have a low system relevance. The recommendation of this work is that Germany should develop and implement a further CO₂-free supply.