Can Germany meet its electricity demand with renewables? How much electricity is imported from nuclear and coal-fired power plants? Will a solar eclipse lead to a blackout? Ten years ago, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE launched the “Energy Charts” data platform to objectify the debate on the energy transition.
It all started with a press release: In 2011, the media warned of a blackout on the holiday Whit Monday because grid feed-in from solar was high and the load low. Prof. Bruno Burger from Fraunhofer ISE was so annoyed by this that he began to compile data on power generation in a set of slides. “I wanted to make the debate about the energy transition more objective by providing the public with easy-to-understand data.
The Energy Charts website now provides data in four languages and for 42 European countries. The time resolution has also increased from weekly to daily to quarter-hourly time steps. Forecast values are also available for data such as expected electricity generation and electricity exchange prices. Prof. Burger’s efforts to promote the educational awareness of the energy transition are not limited to the Energy Charts website. Each year he gives over 100 interviews, lectures and seminars informing people with the latest facts about the energy transition. Around 400 media reports per year cite data from either the Energy Charts or from Prof. Burger directly.