At the beginning of June on the outskirts of Hamburg in Germany, large wind turbines quietly standing beneath the blue sky, huge blades did not move. An energy laboratory at the university of applied sciences in Hamburg, Dr Hans shed firth said to me, Hamburg, many wind turbines often closed, because the current wind power surplus.

This year, at two o 'clock in the afternoon of May 16, the wind fine weather to German solar and wind power reached a historic peak, and the renewable energy electricity in this instant met almost all of Germany's electricity demand.

For Germany is vigorously promoting new energy transformation, the news really comforting? Not necessarily. In fact, on the issue of energy transformation, Germany is TaShan jade, is also a warning. German renewable energy industry in rapid development at the same time, also appeared a lot of strange like: new energy power generation increased dramatically, but the traditional thermal power generating capacity is not decreased obviously; New energy investment and subsidy increases, but wasteful; New energy power generation costs falling, but rising electricity costs...

To this end, the German government had to slam on the new energy development strategy "brake". June 8, the German government through the renewable energy law reform bill: solar, wind power generating capacity cap to reduce excess capacity; Stop fixed subsidies for new wind farms and solar power plant; Phasing out green electricity net price subsidies; Limit the onshore wind expansion speed.

Some people see it as a German energy transformation strategy "backward", while Angela merkel called "paradigm shift". This is how to return a responsibility after all, this is for China to vigorously develop renewable energy state what enlightenment?

At present, including wind, solar, biomass, renewable power (green electricity) meets the requirements of Germany 30% of its electricity, and the ratio is only 6.3% in 2000. According to the draft reform, by 2025, the German green electricity proportion will rise to 40% to 40%. The German federal foreign trade and investment experts haining ˙ ellerman says, Germany made the world's most ambitious energy transformation strategy.

To achieve this goal, the German government implemented a massive subsidy measures. Since 1991, the German government provide subsidies to green power production enterprises, the current annual subsidy has more than 20 billion euros. The subsidies, Germany as the world's one of the largest country in the new energy investment.

The government's high subsidies caused Germany green power generation to soar, but unable to absorb the electric power, power grid excess lead to green electricity. Firth explained, "reconstruction of power grid balance" is the crux. Because of solar and wind power is not stable, easily affected by the seasons and the weather, so you need to solve the instability of green power output and the contradiction between the stability of electricity demand.

Shows, the excess of green power is not the "absolute surplus", but "relative surplus" caused by mismatch between supply and demand. To solve this problem, must for grid to make substantial transformation, development of new energy storage technology, in order to realize intelligent deployment between production and consumption.

But the problem is that the German government focus on new energy power generation and subsidies, higher than for grid energy storage technology and transformation of the attention and subsidy, can lead to the development of power grid transformation and storage technology lags behind the production of green electricity.

Worth the lesson is, therefore, power generation, transmission, storage, electricity, should get the attention of relative equilibrium, if excessive subsidies policy has focused on the production side, the man-made green electricity output of "relative surplus", also cause as a waste of public resources of government subsidies. At the same time, due to the power grid transformation and energy storage technology development compared with the development of green power generation more slowly, when the government subsidies, should be taking into account the "time lag" in advance.

Schaffer said, it is because of the lagged development of smart grid and energy storage technology, led to Germany's thermal power out slower, because in order to ensure the balance of power grid, still must keep may at any time to adjust electricity power plant. Since the 1990 s, Germany with coal as raw materials of thermal power generating capacity basically stable, the new green power is only part of the nuclear power out of part of the fill. Also it is because of this reason, in green power surplus in 2015 cases, Germany greenhouse gas emissions were 1% higher than in 2014, this directly lead to suspicion, German energy transformation can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In the consumer side, the problem is more serious, Germany's new energy transformation cost greatly by ordinary consumers in Germany. Electricity prices in European countries, Germany ranked second, higher than the neighbouring France had nearly doubled. Since 2006 decade, electricity price has risen by 47% in Germany. Electricity costs even reached 1/10 of the average annual household income.

Subsidies for green electricity producer, Germany rules on the green electricity purchasing price, and as the green electricity production costs are lower, and the difference between the purchase price is more and more big, the cost price which spreads by renewable energy surcharge to fill. The present German electricity price, this part of the surcharge ratio as high as 22.2%, and less than 5% a decade ago.

This means that the benefits of green electricity cost reduction is obtained by the manufacturer, the price by consumers to bear it all. Its advantage is that manufacturers production to stimulate more and more high, so the green electricity production is rising fast; The downside is that for poor families and small and medium-sized enterprises, increasing pressure.

In green power overproduction of consumers pay for more expensive price, this is new German a "stubborn" in the process of energy transformation. This also directly affects the energy transformation model can be copied in other countries.

As a result, the renewable energy law reform bill comes the time, the German energy transformation does need a "paradigm shift", especially to eliminate market distortions caused by government subsidies and price controls. The government's strategic planning is indispensable and necessary subsidies on energy transformation, but also must be alert to the resulting market distortions, which is one of the important lessons of energy transformation in Germany.