Many small, decentralised power generators could replace conventional large-scale power plants. But how can wind, sun and bioenergy be integrated into the future power supply system? With the “Kombikraftwerk2”, researchers aim to show how power generation from 100 per cent renewable energies can be achieved and stabilised.  more...

The new Wind Energy Research Alliance was officially launched in Germany at the beginning of this year. Professor Andreas Reuter from the IWES Fraunhofer Institute explained to BINE what opportunities this cooperation offers.  more...

In the future, wind turbines will continue to generate power even when subjected to strong gusts of wind. Intelligent rotor blades will detect and compensate currents independently. This will minimise downtimes. Until now, manufacturers have been discouraged by the high effort. Now the Wind Energy Research Alliance is focussing on this development.  more...

Until now rotor blades have been produced almost completely manually. In order to manufacture them more cheaply, it is now intended to automate this process. The Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES is therefore investigating concepts and technologies for this purpose. In the "BladeMaker" project, the manufacturers want to determine where automation is viable and how rotor blades must be constructed to achieve this.  more...

In the "Smart Country" model project, researchers in Bitburg-Prüm were testing out the distribution network of the future. It is designed to respond flexibly to the increasingly decentralised generation of renewable electricity in the grid. For this purpose various operating resources were further developed: an optimised biogas plant, which controls the electricity supplied by the grid, virtually stores surplus electricity with an efficiency of 98 %. In addition, voltage regulators double the usable output capacity in the grid. The Eifel project successfully passed the field test after around one year.  more...

At the Annual Conference of the Renewable Energy Research Association (FVEE) on 16 and 17 October 2012, scientists and industrial representatives presented innovations along with new strategies for their market introduction. In his opening speech, Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier emphasised that greater importance should be given to research and development in regard to the era of energy revolution.  more...

It is intended that renewables shall supply around 80 per cent of the electricity requirement by 2050. The German federal government's joint "Energy Storage" funding initiative is therefore supporting technological breakthroughs that lower costs and contribute to rapid market introductions. The three federal ministries for Economics, the Environment and Research have now given the start signal for 60 research projects in the energy storage sector. The programmes focus on two main areas: wind and hydrogen as well as batteries.  more...

The Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES inaugurated a 200 m high measuring mast that is capable of determining wind potential more accurately. The mast will provide important information for the construction of large-scale wind farms in or near forests. It is located at the top of a hill in a forest near Kassel and will enable researchers to undertake more detailed research into wind conditions on undulating terrain. This information will help to avoid inaccurate yield calculations and further improve wind farm planning.  more...

The electricity grid must also remain stable when subjected to short-term fluctuations between generation and consumption. In order to compensate for these, additional, secure levels of power are needed within several seconds to minutes. Until now, fossil fuel-fired power stations took on this task; in future, however, wind farms are to make an increased contribution to the compensation. A research project by the Fraunhofer IWES aims to develop a new method in cooperation with industrial partners.  more...

Renewable energies are growing steadily. The development of their costs is the subject of passionate public discussion. However, decisive data and facts are often being ignored in this debate. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has therefore updated its study on "Electricity generation costs for renewable energies".  more...