Sun, Wind & Wires

This book is written and illustrated by people whose professional passion is energy supply and science communication. For us, the energy transition is like the first flight to the moon – an incredibly exciting challenge, a quantum leap in our innovative strength and one of the biggest human projects of our century. We would like to share a piece of our passion with our readers – for newcomers to the industry as well as for anyone interested in gaining an insight into the otherwise hidden world of electricity supply.

First, we show how the system works today. We have mapped out the network of relationships between key players in an actor-layer model, broken down into four levels: Physics (how does electricity flow?), Market (how is electricity traded?), Data (what information is exchanged?) and Rules of the Game (what regulatory framework applies?). In Zoom-ins, we explain important basic terms such as ancillary services, balancing group, merit order and unbundling.

We then explore the future: model projects on the way to integrating 100% renewables into the system, building on the WindNODE project – showcase for intelligent energy from the north-east of Germany. This includes looking at the challenges facing society.