April 22, 2011
Germany

Germany to tie rail to wind?

UPI, www.upi.com 22 April 2011UPI, www.upi.com 22 April 2011

Using the electrical grid powering Germany’s rail system to transport wind energy could save the country a lot of money, analysts said.

Berlin is pursuing a national policy to increase the amount of energy it gets from renewable energy resources through alternative resources such as wind-generated power.

The German Energy Agency estimates that more than 2,000 miles of high-voltage power lines will need to come online by 2020 to carry power produced from wind farms in the north of the country. Only about 60 miles have been installed, German news magazine Der Spiegel reports.

The German Transport Ministry said it was looking at using the grid for federal railways to help transport wind-generated electricity across the grid. Those power lines are the second-longest in the country at more than 4,800 miles.

European Energy Commissioner Gunter Oettinger described the concept as “very useful” and German Economics Minister Rainer Bruderle said it was something he found “attractive.”

Economic officials said it would cost about 75 percent less to upgrade the rail grid to handle new energy than it would be to build new power lines.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/22/germany-to-tie-rail-to-wind/