Combined Cycle Power Plant

The Combined Cycle Power Plant, “Kombikraftwerk” can harness wind, sunlight, water, and biofuels to meet ALL Germany’s electric power needs, 365 days per year, regardless of weather conditions.  And if it “werks” in Germany, it will work here.

Professor Jurgen Schmid and his colleagues at the Institute for Solar Energy Supply Systems of the University of Kassel, in Germany, with funding from Enercon GmbH, SolarWorld AG and Schmack Biogas AG, have developed the Combined Cycle Power Plant, or “Kombikraftwerk” and proven that they can use wind, solar, biomass and hydro to meet ALL Germany’s electricity needs around the clock regardless of weather conditions. Schmid says.“If renewables continue to grow as they have done in the past, they’ll provide around 40% of Germany’s electricity needs by 2020. We could therefore achieve 100% by the middle of the century.” Information on the Combined Cycle Power Plant is here, and here, at “Germany’s Renewable Energy Information Platform.

The Combined Cycle Power Plant is a network of 36 installations, wind farms, solar arrays, biogas and hydro turbines. Wind and solar provide base load power. When there is too much wind, excess power is used to pump water uphill into reservoirs – essentially storing the potential energy in a water / gravity battery.  When needed the water flows, powering hydroturbines. They also use biogas for peak power.

It’s ironic that the country that almost destroyed civilization in the 1930’s and ’40’s is today leading the efforts to save it; while at the same time the country that stepped in to save civilization in the ’30’s and ’40’s seems hell-bent on destroying it today.

What is different? For the past 30 years the Germans have been listening to Hermann Scheer, an economist member of Parliament who basically said “we don’t want to buy fuel from the Arabs, the Iranians, or the Russians.  We need to be self-sufficient in terms of energy. Sunlight and the winds are free of chargs, and can be harnessed, forever, without the production of toxic wastes.”  It’s as if they were listening to Al Gore.

We, on the other hand, have been following leaders who told us we can’t trust our government. And by their actions – arms for hostages deals with Iran, arms for drugs deals in South America, the War for oil in Iraq, incompetence in response to Hurricane Katrina, an energy policy based on dependance on buying fuel from dictators that will cause more storms and floods – proven themselves true to their words. We listen to:

• Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers behind the Tea Party, who happily spend Millions so they don’t have to pay their fair share to build roads, schools, hospitals,
• Don Blankenship, who ignores mine safety laws, fires miners, and creates conditions by which disasters like Upper Big Branch have to happen,
• Glenn Beck, who’s message is populist and racist,
• Rush Limbaugh who wants to take us back to 1950,
• Newt Gingrich, who tell us we can’t trust the President, and he wants him to fail – but if Obama fails, America fails – because he is the President,
• Rupert Murdoch who with his company News Corp, provides a national platform for Beck, Limbaugh and the rest.
• Alaweed bin Tallal, Saudi Prince and second largest shareholder in News Corp.

Murdoch and bin Talal in Abu Dhabi

As we think about the events of September 11, 2001, we must think about the world we are creating for ouselves and our children.