Green party says renewables not to blame for high grid costs

Green Party energy expert Ingrid Nestle says renewable power plants are not responsible for record grid management costs, which according to the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) amounted to 1.4 billion euros in 2017. “I warn against making renewables a scapegoat for the moderate increase in prices,” Nestle said in a press release. “It’s important to call out the true reason here: There are no incentives to use power before a grid bottleneck and no incentives to use grids more efficiently.” Nestle added that “inflexible coal and nuclear power” clogged grids. “Just by shutting down nuclear plants in the north, redispatch (capacity management) costs could be reduced substantially.”

Find background in the dossier Energiewende hinges on unblocking the power grid.