Energy supply based on wind-solar power in Germany

Abstract Wind-solar power has an intrinsic huge volatility and the obvious question arises, is it possible to marginalize it to an extent that the power generation can sufficiently be synchronized with the electric power consumption being volatile as well. We present a novel function describing the volatile system as a whole. The new function, in turn, depends on three characteristic numbers, which means that the volatility of this system is characterized by those numbers. Using the data of the total electric power consumption and the total wind-solar power generation in Germany for the last seven years (2015–2021) taken every 15 minutes we determine the characteristic numbers from these data and get the result that marginalizing the volatility is possible with a minimum of required storage capacity, provided (i) a surplus of wind-solar power is supplied about doubling the number of devices, (ii) smart meters are installed, (iii) a different kind of wind turbines and solar panels is partially used. Our results suggest that all the present electric energy required in Germany can be obtained from wind-solar power if (i), (ii) and possibly (iii) are fulfilled. And our results indicate that, because of the minimal necessary storage capacity, controlled wind-solar power can in addition produce the energy for transportation, warm water, space heating and in part for process heating, requiring an increase of the electric energy production in total by a factor of 5. Then, however, a huge number of wind turbines and solar panels is required changing the appearance of German landscapes fundamentally. Our method can be applied to the wind-solar power problem of any country provided a reliable basis of power data exists over a sufficiently long period.