Berlin energy expert and former SPD member of parliament Klaus Mindrup calls for more decentralization in the German electricity system. Instead of investing in new gas-fired power plants, he recommends installing large-scale batteries to ensure energy security. In an interview with Table.Briefings, he reports on a fact-finding trip to California, where the operating times of gas-fired power plants are currently being „dramatically reduced“ because the „batteries react much faster and more efficiently and are also cheaper.“ In principle, Mindrup advocates a more decentralized and therefore more flexible power supply, also to the benefit of customers: „Of course, at times and in places with a lot of sun and wind, it should be possible to reduce electricity prices and use them to control consumption patterns.„
Stadtwerke Trier and Speyer are currently taking an exemplary approach. They tried to market the regionally generated renewable electricity regionally. However, capacities are limited because the control system only allows access to systems with a capacity of more than 100 kWh, meaning that most rooftop systems are not accessible to regional suppliers. Mindrup: „It is inherently paradoxical that small systems in particular are marketed centrally.“ A decentralized supply structure would also enable lower electricity prices. Read the interview to find out why Mindrup thinks little of current studies that assume significantly lower electricity demand than recently assumed. Horand Knaup