Awesome Graphs — Today’s Solar & Wind Power Relevance in Germany

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I found these awesome graphs and charts that illustrate the electricity production patterns of solar and wind power in Germany in 2012. They are being published by the Fraunhofer ISE and are updated regularly it seems, as they are currently up-to-date.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) is the largest institute of applied science specialized on solar energy utilization in Europe. It was founded in 1981 and has been the source of innovation and scientific breakthroughs ever since.

Some Outstanding Graphs

The first image showcases the awesome complementary nature of wind and solar power generation over a monthly period. This is something very important one has to keep in mind, especially when people suggest a “technology neutral” policy of incentives/subsidies aimed at introducing renewable energy generation into the power mix. Knowing about this complementary nature makes arguments like “we should only support cost-efficient (wind) methods of power generation” sound rather silly, at least when the goal is a 100% renewable energy system.

The second image shows the first week of 2012 when windpower basicly created a 7-day weekend for fossil/nuclear power plants.

The third image shows the record breaking week in May when solar power produced as much electricity as 20 nuclear power plants during peak hours.

Not enough data visualization for you? Then you can access the complete set of charts here.