28 Feb 2017

Mining union: German power grid at the brink of a blackout

Rheinische Post / IG BCE

The German power grid was on the brink of a blackout on the 24^th of January because of an extended period of little wind and cloudy skies, the Trade Union for mining, chemicals and energy industries (IG BCE) warned in the Rheinische Post. Energy providers and grid operators struggled to provide the regular daily demand of 80 gigawatt as “renewables could not even contribute five percent of that”, Michael Vassiliadis, head of the trade union representing workers in conventional energy generation industries, told journalists. A blackout in Germany was only avoided because providers “used even the last reserve plant,” Vassiliadis said.

Read the article in German here.

For more information, see the CLEW factsheet How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?

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