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1. What is the German government’s “reality check” energy transition monitor?
2. Why is the government doing it, and why now?
3. Does Germany need a realignment of energy policy?
4. What criticism has the report faced?
5. Will the report lead to a slowdown of renewables expansion?
6. Doesn’t Germany already monitor the energy transition?

Large-scale batteries already take and provide electricity in a way that helps stabilise Germany’s grids without causing additional costs, but their contribution could be much higher, according to a report by consultancy Neon. 

“Our calculations show that a large-scale battery relieves and burdens the grid with approximately equal frequency,” the authors wrote. However, their contribution “falls well short of its potential,” they added, pointing out that “large-scale batteries should by no means be classified as a burden on the grid”.

The report’s authors analysed the charge, discharge and idle behaviour of two large-scale batteries: one in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein and a theoretical one in southern Bavaria. They then calculated whether their behaviour affected redispatch and grid expansion costs. “From a financial perspective, the battery reduces redispatch costs over the course of the year, even if the contribution is small,” they concluded.

Grid-related price signals could increase the effect, as the grid-friendly behaviour is purely coincidental, the authors found. Germany’s electricity market has a single power price zone, where electricity is traded for the entire country. Large-scale batteries use market signals to buy electricity and charge up when prices are low, and feed electricity back into the grid when prices are higher.

Because electricity can be traded throughout Germany, grid bottlenecks are not visible. However, often electricity from the windy north cannot be transported to consumption centres in the south because grids are clogged up, causing costly so-called redispatch costs.

The authors therefore suggest the government introduce a special battery grid fee, which would set a variable price for withdrawing or feeding electricity every quarter-hour, depending on the regional capacity of grids to transport electricity.

“We want to get the most out of batteries because, after all, we believe they are essential for our energy future,” said Georg Gallmetzer, head of storage system developer ECO STOR, who commissioned the report. “This requires incentives that benefit the grid. If we can achieve this, everyone involved would benefit - storage operators, grid operators, consumers, and the economy.”

The majority of workers in Germany feel that climate change has had an effect on their workplace, a survey by health insurer TK has found. Sixty percent of surveyed people said that climate change had impacted the job and health of employees in their company in recent years, with outdoor workers feeling most affected.

“Climate change is a health risk that the working world must not ignore,” TK head Jens Baas said. Particularly, more frequent heatwaves increase the risk of accidents and reduce employee productivity, he added.

The insurer found links between hot days, where day and nighttime temperatures exceed 20.2°C, and sick leave. “Sick notes with certain diagnoses are issued more than twice as often as expected seasonally during hot days,” TK wrote. This includes workers being incapacitated for work from Lyme disease (typically after a tick bite), circulatory problems, low blood pressure, sunburn, insect bites and certain wound infections.

Overall, heat-related diagnoses account for only a small proportion of total sick leave, TK pointed out. “The health consequences of climate change are often indirect: rising temperatures and increasing air pollution have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, asthma and allergies, for example,” Baas said.

When asked what employers could do to ensure they can continue to work healthily as climate change advances, employees wished for more awareness of sustainable behaviour, flexible working hours to avoid the midday heat, action and emergency plans for extreme weather, and more relaxed dress codes.

Worker union IG BAU recently called for construction workers to be able to stop outdoor labour when temperatures surpass 33 degrees. They also pushed for a compensation mechanism which would kick in if workers cannot do their jobs due to adverse weather conditions at the height of summer to complement a similar scheme that is already in place for harsh conditions during the winter months.

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