How to Produce and Use Renewable Energy Safely
Whether it's photovoltaics, wind energy, biogas, green hydrogen or other sustainable technologies and forms of energy: The power plants of the future are sustainable. And their number is growing rapidly all around the world. Yet for them to be accepted by society, not only do they have to be efficient, cost-effective and practical, but above all the plants and systems have to be safe.
The project is truly gigantic in scale: in India, the Adani Group is currently constructing what they claim to be the world's largest power plant for renewable energies. After its planned completion in 2029, the Khavda Renewable Energy Park is expected to generate a peak output of 30 gigawatts of electricity from solar energy. By comparison, the largest solar park in Germany to date, which was commissioned in 2024 near Borna in the state of Saxony, has a peak output of a mere 0.65 gigawatts. The new plant being realized in the salt desert in the western Indian state of Gujarat covers an area of almost 540 square kilometers and will therefore be more than five times the size of Paris. The plant is designed to generate enough electricity for 16 million households. According to India's national electricity plan, 44 percent of the country's electricity is to be generated from renewable energies by 2032.
Green electricity capacity is growing due to large solar power plants
Global green electricity capacity could nearly triple by 2030. This is at least according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency. Solar power is expected to account for 80 percent of global growth in renewable capacities. In addition to the increasing number of solar panels on the roofs of companies and households, the construction of new large solar power plants will be decisive. The Australian Renewable Energy Hub is also likely to set standards in this respect. The concept, which was originally launched as the Asian Renewable Energy Hub and has been revised several times, aims to generate 26 gigawatts of wind and solar power in the East Pilbara region in north-western Australia; the aim is to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia using electrolysis.
“As an important component for a climate-neutral future, green hydrogen will increasingly find its way into our everyday lives,” says Philip Sulz, Head of “Renewable Energies” at DEKRA Automobil GmbH. At the same time, he believes that green hydrogen and its derivatives are presenting themselves as cross-sector solutions for a sustainable economy due to their wide-ranging application potential – be it as a universally applicable energy storage medium, fuel for ships and aircraft or as a raw material and energy vector in industry.
The expansion of wind energy
In order to achieve the ambitious climate targets set by the European Union and others, the expansion of wind energy will undoubtedly continue to increase. The world's tallest wind turbine to date is currently being built in Germany's Lusatia region. The wind turbine developed by the Gicon Group and built in Schipkau will be 300 meters high up to the center of the rotor and 365 meters high up to the tip of the rotor blade. According to the group, a hub height of 300 meters allows 60 to 70 percent more energy to be generated than with normal-height wind turbines, as the wind blows stronger and more consistently at this height. The turbine is expected to be able to supply up to 8,000 households with electricity.
The world's most powerful floating wind turbine to date did not go into operation until December 2024 in the Chinese province of Hainan. The twin-turbine platform designed by Mingyang Smart Energy is called OceanX. According to Mingyang, one of the special features of the turbine is that two rotors are arranged at an angle of 120 degrees to each other and rotate in opposite directions, which is intended to lead to an optimized wind flow and more efficient energy production. Studies have shown that the OceanX turbine can produce up to 20 percent more electricity than conventional offshore wind turbines. With a predicted annual output of over 60 gigawatt hours, the turbine can cover the electricity needs of up to 15,000 households.
Smart synergy between solar and wind energy
In light of the ever-increasing investments in power plants based on renewable energies, the experts from “Energy Systems of the Future” (ESYS) – a joint initiative of the German Academy of Science and Engineering, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Union of German Academies – examined the question of whether round-the-clock base load power plants such as nuclear power plants, geothermal power plants or natural gas power plants with CO2 capture will still be necessary for a reliable, climate-friendly power supply in the future. The experts are firmly convinced that this is also possible by combining solar and wind energy with battery storage, flexible electricity consumption and residual load power plants that only run when needed. “The expansion of renewable energies and the European electricity and hydrogen grids is likely to cover the electricity demand and most of the hydrogen demand within Europe,” states the ESYS impulse paper published at the beginning of December 2024.
Regardless of which technologies are used in the fight against climate change – “the safety of employees and the safety of the respective plants are key to ensuring a sustainable energy supply,” emphasizes Falk Rosenlöcher from technical product management for wind turbines, hydrogen technology and PV solar at DEKRA Automobil GmbH. “Our comprehensive portfolio of services, ranging from support in the approval process in line with the Federal Immission Control Act to the provision of health and safety coordinators during construction, commissioning and recurring inspections in accordance with the Industrial Safety Ordinance, is always tailored to the specific requirements,” the expert says. The individual services contribute significantly to meeting the technical and legal requirements, minimizing the level of risk and maximizing the efficiency of the projects.