www.reuters.com
25 Apr 2012
(Reuters) - Power users with "green" leanings in Germany now can put into practice what they preach by switching on electrical devices at times of high renewable energy production. A new app offered by German utility Vattenfall Europe provides short-term information about the share of power derived from renewables such as wind or solar within the overall power mix. Stromwetter (power weather), the smartphone app which was developed by the firm, displays in green colour any share of renewable power exceeding 10%, or 8 GW of usage out of the maximum power load on the transmission grids of roughly 80,000 MW, Vattenfall said on Wednesday.
"If you prefer to use power from wind and solar power sources, then that is the time period on which to focus your consumption," said Helmar Rendez, managing director of Vattenfall Distribution. "By using the app, power customers can voluntarily support the strategy shift towards renewables, independently of where they are buying their power and at what tariff it is priced," he added. Wind power accounted for 38% of renewable power output last year and solar power for 16%, with biomass accounting for 30% and hydroelectric power the rest.
Stromwetter will derive the data from Leipzig power exchange EEX, which collects and relays aggregated production figures from German and Austrian power companies in 15-minute intervals. Germany has embarked on a shift toward renewables and away from nuclear power in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster in March 2011. It derived 20% of power from renewables last year. It wants 35% by 2020 and 80% by the middle of the century.
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