Tutorial for this page
Renewable electricity
How much renewable electricity do you think should be generated? How will you generate the electricity you need? read more
How much renewable electricity do you think should be generated?
How will you generate the electricity you need?
Keep in mind what you have already filled in for the sections 'Demand', 'Costs' and 'Goals'. At the bottom of the screen ('Targets met'), you can see how many of your own policy targets you meet with the current electricity production mix. If you move your cursor over this indicator, you will see a table with more details.
hide text
Your browser is not completely supported. more information close
-
Biomass plants
Biomass is often still grown at the expense of food crops. How much solid biomass do you want to use for generating electricity?
numberBiomass CHPThis indicates how many 20 MWe biomass-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units you have built in the 'Demand' section. Because their electricity production is not centralized, you cannot influence this number in this section. The power generated is shown in the graph on the right as biomass power production.
More information on units...Co-firing coalThis is a 'virtual' pulverized coal-fired plant in which 100% biomass is co-fired. Because the theoretical maximum for co-firing (energy-input) is 30%, you need to build a regular coal-fired plant for every virtual co-firing plant.
At the bottom of the page you can see how much arable land you need world-wide to grow all the required biomass. -
Wind turbines
Wind power requires a lot of land or sea surface. How much do you want to produce?
numberOnshore inlandThis slider builds a certain number of 3 MWe wind turbines on land. Wind turbines produce less electricity per MWe than fossil fired plants do, because of varying wind conditions. Inland wind turbines produce at maximum capacity ~25% of the time.
Power fluctuations caused by varying wind conditions can destabilize the electricity grid, if wind power is a substantial part of your production park. Wind also requires back-up or import capacity, for windless periods. Gas-fired power plants may serve this purpose, although storage in electric car batteries may also be an option.Onshore coastHere you build a certain number of 3 MWe wind turbines on land at the coast.
These wind turbines are built on dikes or just next to them in the water. Wind turbines produce less electricity per MWe than fossil-fired or nuclear plants do, because of varying wind conditions. Coastal wind turbines produce at maximum capacity ~27% of the time.
Power fluctuations caused by varying wind conditions can destabilize the electricity grid, if wind power is a substantial part of your production park. Wind also requires back-up or import capacity, for windless periods. Gas-fired power plants may serve this purpose, although storage in electric car batteries may also be an option.OffshoreHere you build a certain number of 3 MWe wind turbines at sea. Wind turbines produce less electricity per MWe than fossil-fired or nuclear plants do, because of varying wind conditions. Offshore wind turbines produce at maximum capacity ~38% of the time, if there is not too much need for maintenance.
Power fluctuations caused by varying wind conditions can destabilize the electricity grid, if wind power is a substantial part of your production park. Wind also requires back-up or import capacity, for windless periods. Gas-fired power plants may serve this purpose, although storage in electric car batteries may also be an option. -
Hydro electric
Hydro-electricity is considered renewable, but large dams are often built at tremendous cost to the environment. How much do you want to produce?
numberRiverThis builds a small run-of-the-river hydro-electric plant in a large river. Due to the limited slope, these plants have little production capacity (~10 MWe). The total production potential for any country tends to be limited, therefore. Still, because of their relatively long life and reliability, these plants are an interesting option. -
Geothermal
Geothermal power's potential is not very well known yet in many countries. How much do you think could be produced?
numberGeothermal electricThis builds a 7 MWe geothermal electric power plant. Electricity is generated using heat from more than 3 km deep underground.
Generating electricity required much higher temperatures than geothermal heat for buildings or greenhouses does. Whether it is an attractive option is partly determined by how deep high temperatures are found. -
Solar power
Is solar power the power of the future? How much do you want to produce?
numberSolar PV plantsThis builds a plant of 20 MWe of photovoltaic solar power panels. These are not mounted on roofs, but placed in a field, for example.
Since Northern Europe receives relatively little sun, solar power is still much more expensive than other renewable technologies. Like wind power, solar power output fluctuates, but in a more predictable way, making it easier to keep the electricity grid in balance. Still, the impact of installing large numbers of solar panels can be large, because electricity is fed back into the local grid. This may require balancing solutions at the local level for the grid.
More information on units...Solar PV roofsThis indicates how many housing blocks or buildings (of 1 MWp or 0.012 km2) you have supplied with roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. This is a result of your choices in the 'Demand' section under the Households and Buildings sectors.
Because their electricity production is not centralized this slider gives a summary of what you filled in under the Demand sectors. You cannot influence this number in this section, if you want to change it go to Demand and change the Solar PV slider under Decentral Electricity in Households and/or Buildings. The power generated is shown in the graph on the right as solar power production.
More information on units... -
Waste power
Burning waste of biological origins to produce electricity competes with other uses for biological waste. How much power can be produced?
numberWaste incineratorThis builds a high energy yield waste-incineration plant of 50 MWe. Waste that can be burnt is used to generate electricity. By incinerating waste under the right conditions, it can be processed in a relatively clean way. Rotting or decomposing waste produces strong greenhouse gasses, so incineration is often preferable from an environmental point of view.
The maximum potential for these power plants is limited by available domestic waste. We assume no waste will be imported.
