Dependable energy supply from fluctuating natural sources - a case for energy storage

Sustainability through the use of regenerative energy is a longterm political goal, the reasons are the finite fossil resources and the avoidance of toxic emissions and waste. Wind energy is presently considered in Europe to offer best promise for contributing a substantial portion of the electrical supply; the generation of electricity from wind is state of the art and feeding even large surges of wind power into the grid is believed by many to pose no unsolvable problems. In the following it is discussed, whether the present policy in Germany of priority feeding large quantities of subsidized wind power without energy storage into the grid offers a long term promise for a sustainable and non-nuclear energy supply. Generation of storable and transportable secondary energy carriers such as hydrogen for decoupling the fluctuating supply and demand might be a preferable alternative