Shifting Currents : Challenges and Solutions for the Planned Evolution of the German Transmission Grid

Immediately after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, the German federal government imposed a moratorium on nuclear power plants. In doing so, it shifted the fundamental transformation of the electrical system in the Federal Republic of Germany into top gear. Germany?s neighboring countries did not remain unaffected. Moving up the deadline for the nuclear phaseout increased the pace of the already approved development of renewable energy sources (RESs) to counter climate change. Moreover, Germany also increased its efforts to manage energy more efficiently and to decrease its dependence on foreign fossil fuels.