4 February 2012
Germany Moving Forward with the Third Industrial Revolution
Posted by John Freeland
Despite the high up-front costs of re-building a national power infrastructure, largely decentralized and based on renewable energy sources, Germany remains Europe’s economic powerhouse.
In 2007, the European Parliament made a written declaration to establish a Third Industrial Revolution “through partnership with committed regions and cities, SMEs (small and medium-size enterprises) and civil society organizations.”
With all of the financial trouble going on in parts of Europe, and Germany’s central role in shoring up fiscal problems in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain, it would be easy to understand if Germany postponed its ambitious energy plans. But that’s not the case. Germany is pushing forward.
The private consultant and chief architect of the Third Industrial Revolution is Jeremy Rifkin. Mr. Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, which “examines the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of new technologies introduced into the global economy.” According to Rifkin, industrial revolutions occur when new energy systems converge with emerging communications technology.
During the First Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, steam power made possible the mass production of printed media: books, magazines, newspapers. In the Second Industrial Revolution in the early 20th century, automotive technology converged with telephone communications, which led to greater sprawl and migration to suburbs and rural areas.
In the current Third Industrial Revolution, Rifkin sees renewable energy and internet-based smart grid technology radically transforming the production and distribution of clean energy.
Here are “The 5 Pillars” of the Third Industrial Revolution:
1. Expanded generation and use of renewable energy through wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and wave power. The EU has formally committed to a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions and 20 percent renewable energy production by 2020.
2. Buildings as power plants. Distributed power strategies are taken to their ultimate potential by shifting energy generation to individual buildings. Homes, schools, offices and factories will become part of a network of renewable power plants. The EU has committed to converting all 191 million buildings in Europe to power producers of renewable energy.
3. Hydrogen storage of electricity. To maximize the potential of renewable energy, storage methods are needed to ensure the conversion of the intermittent supplies into a reliable asset. Some storage capacity can be provided by batteries and other methods, but the greatest opportunity comes from the use of hydrogen.
4. Development of the intergrid. The smart intergrid is made up of three components. Minigrids allow all-sized power generators to produce and use their renewable energy off-grid. Smart metering produces a bi-directional grid where individual users can buy and sell their power to the grid. Embedding sensing devices in every electrical appliance will allow constant reading and management of the demands on the grid and development of true demand pricing.
5. Plug-in ready cars. Development of an infrastructure that supports electric plug-in and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles — both their construction and fueling.
Well ahead of schedule, twenty percent of Germany’s power now comes from renewable sources. Rifkin talks more about the Third Industrial Revolution in a video available at the Renaissance Society of America.
Photo source: Young Germany.
The 20% share of renewable sources was achieved because of government subsidies. But these are being cut gradually until it goes away completely in a few years.
I wonder whether this trend will continue without subsidies…
Luiz: Thanks for the comment and you raise a good point. I recommend an article by Paul Gipe at Wind-Works.org, where he says”
“Regardless of the cuts, German development of renewable energy remains a remarkable success at driving down costs, especially that of solar PV. As a result of its feed-in tariff policy, Germany has cut the cost of solar PV to one-third of that just a decade ago!
German solar today is significantly less costly than solar PV anywhere in North America. And German solar PV will be even less expensive than anything on this side of the Atlantic after the new cuts go into effect.”
So, no, this isn’t the end of the world. It is a sign of a maturing market.”
http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/USA/IstheEndofRenewablesNighasFukushimaAnniversaryNears.html
We can talk about the government subsidies for coal, oil, gas, and nuclear, but sometimes I think people believe only wind and solar projects get them.
I don’t know about solar energy,but Rifkin’s making a big mistake when it comes to Hydrogen storage systems.Hydrogen storage is both dangerous and expensive.Here in the United Stated,we have massive debt and unemployment.Most people could never afford these hydrogen storage systems.What Rfikin should be working on is hydrogen-on-demand systems.Here you produce the hydrogen on demand.You’re not storing it,hence,you’re eliminating the risk of an explosion.There’s a website on the
internet(WATERPOWEREDCAR.COM)It has all the information concerning
this.
The thing that kills me is that back in the 1980’s,you couldn’t pick up a newspaper or magazine without reading
about Rifkin attacking Biotechnology.He filed a ton of lawsuits against it.His main complaint was that scientists were rushing to use this technology without having a formal discussion on it’s safety and impact on society and
the enviorment.He raised concerns and issues and warned of unforeseen consequences.But,from what I’ve reading lately,I think Rifkin needs to practice what he preaches.The problem with solar energy is that too much of
it is being produced in California,Texas and in Germany.The current power grids can’t handle this.This can lead to
power outages and blackouts.Storage technology is still too expensive.Replacing the grids would cost trillions of
dollars.Yet,Rifkin never bothers to mention these issues in any of his interviews and lectures.Rifkin’s all worried
about Biotechnology’s impact on society and the enviorment and he’s not questioning the impact of the technology he’s promoting.