An article at the European Institute for Climate & Energy (EIKE) website here takes a critical look at whether battery parks would be feasible to fully secure Germany’s weather-dependent power generation from wind and solar.
Storing electric power to last Germany 10 days would require a 60 million-tonne battery. Image generated by Grok AI.
Germany currently has a battery capacity of approximately 26 gigawatt-hours (GWh), the majority of which (approx. 20 GWh) consists of private home storage systems.
Only large-scale storage systems (approx. 4.3 GWh) are considered truly “grid-serving.” Currently, these could cover only about 5% of summer electricity demand for 1.5 hours.
The “Germany battery”: What would be required?
Energy expert Staffan Reveman presented a plausibility calculation for making Germany self-sufficient (without fossil fuel plants or imports). The results are sobering.
10 hour buffer
To achieve just 10 hours of buffer, a capacity of 600 GWh would be required – 24 times the current inventory and representing a material weight of approx. 3 million tonnes.
10 days of buffer
To bridge a ten-day “Dunkelflaute” (dark doldrums) in winter with a 50 GW load, 12,000 GWh would be needed. This is 470 times the current total capacity and 2,800 times the current large-scale storage. Such a battery would weigh 60 million tons. A modern factory (like CATL in Thuringia) would theoretically need 857 years to produce this amount.
Constant replacement
A central drawback is the limited durability of batteries (approx. 10–15 years). To operate a system of 12,000 GWh permanently, batteries would need to be replaced conbtinuusly. Reveman calculates that approximately 57 mega-factories would need to produce continuously just to maintain this inventory.
Astronomical cost
A simulation for the Traunstein district showed that self-sufficient supply via wind, solar, and batteries would increase wholesale electricity costs from 6 cents to 217 cents per kwh.
Moreover, a 240-hour battery (12,000 GWh) would require an area of approx. 600 square kilometers (roughly two-thirds the size of Berlin).
Conclusion
The EIKE author concludes that batteries alone cannot guarantee a secure power supply. Even under massive expansion scenarios for 2030, gaps remain (especially in winter) that would strictly require a flexible power plant reserve (e.g., gas-fired plants) or imports.
Furthermore, lack of grid stability (missing rotating mass) is cited as a significant technical hurdle.
The known oil and gas reserves residing down there inside the bowels of the Earth ready to be pumped up are practically an endless source of cheap(est) energy.
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Form Enrrgy in the United States is producing iron air batteries at $20 per
Kw-hr. 100 hr storage battery. South Australia will be 100%
Renewable energy by 2027, are 73% renewable now. Wholesale price
Of electricity has dropped 30%. Soyrce: informed comment, Juan cole,
S. Australia wholesale prices drop 30% with solar, revealing Trump’s high-cost fossil fuel scam.
[…] Germany – The nation’s drive to expand wind and solar power faces a critical test in ensuring reliable electricity during extended lulls in renewable generation. A recent plausibility study by the European Institute for Climate and Energy underscores the vast battery storage required to cover just 10 days of demand without wind or sun. Current systems provide only a fraction of what would be needed, prompting debates over backup strategies.[1][2] […]
I bet Blackout Bowen and Albo Sleazy have done similar numbers for Australia but you will never hear them because that just shows how absolutely stupid Net Zero is and how useless unreliables are.