Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Power Prices Go Negative in Germany, a Positive for Energy Users

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday January 03 2018, @07:01AM   Printer-friendly
from the making-money-from-home dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Germany has spent $200 billion over the past two decades to promote cleaner sources of electricity. That enormous investment is now having an unexpected impact — consumers are now actually paid to use power on occasion, as was the case over the weekend.

Power prices plunged below zero for much of Sunday and the early hours of Christmas Day on the EPEX Spot, a large European power trading exchange, the result of low demand, unseasonably warm weather and strong breezes that provided an abundance of wind power on the grid.

Such "negative prices" are not the norm in Germany, but they are far from rare, thanks to the country's effort to encourage investment in greener forms of power generation. Prices for electricity in Germany have dipped below zero — meaning customers are being paid to consume power — more than 100 times this year alone, according to EPEX Spot.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/business/energy-environment/germany-electricity-negative-prices.html

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Power Prices Go Negative in Germany, a Positive for Energy Users | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 39 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Wednesday January 03 2018, @07:43AM (4 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday January 03 2018, @07:43AM (#617091) Journal

    so, did the feed-in tarrif for home solar *also* go negative, this penalising those with home solar?
    Not quite that perverse, but still, further dis-incentive.

      http://www.res-legal.eu/search-by-country/germany/single/s/res-e/t/promotion/aid/feed-in-tariff-eeg-feed-in-tariff/lastp/135/ [res-legal.eu]

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   3  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 03 2018, @08:06AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 03 2018, @08:06AM (#617097)

    god forbid you contribute to society!!! please go gault and do everyone a favor, ugly woman

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 03 2018, @09:33PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 03 2018, @09:33PM (#617360)

      Someone is testing out their new outrage generator bot. Special place in hell for you buddy.

  • (Score: 2) by jbernardo on Wednesday January 03 2018, @08:37AM (1 child)

    by jbernardo (300) on Wednesday January 03 2018, @08:37AM (#617100)

    In Belgium, at least in the Flemish area, it is negative. You pay a tax indexed to the inverter capacity, around 90€/kW. But apparently if you install a bidirectional meter and sell energetic back to the grid you don't pay that tax, so it might be possible to avoid it.

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 03 2018, @11:05AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 03 2018, @11:05AM (#617123)

      Bi-directional meters (selling excess solar power back) are the regular way of doing home solar panels op the north side of your border.
      In the Netherlands, the government decided to freeze the ratio of selling back to buying to one-on-one until 2023. So if your panels generate an excess amount of energy that would cost you 10 euros to buy, your bill is reduced 10 euros.

      Mind, after 2023 we'll all be wanting powerwalls and other batteries around here.