The Germand energy giant RWE warns  for rising energy priss. The price for LPG and electricity will continue to rise. They warn us about the impact this has on everyones energy bill. This is bad news for consumers. They are afraid that especially the low income households will have difficulties paying their energy bills.

Rising energy prices

At the moment the energy bill is already a significant part of house holds’ monthly bill, but this part will only increase. Especially the lower incomes will have difficulties paying their bills, while energy dependend companies will see a significant increase in their costs as well.

Possitive impact for Renewable Energy

But it is good news for the renewable energy sector. It means that it becomes more and more profitable for consumers and businesses to install their own solar panels to produce the power they need. Or even to produce more than they need to become a nett energy producer. Some people are very skeptical and say the impact is too small. Companies should focus on their core business and leave this to the specialist who can produce energy on a large scale.

Shorter payback is possitive for renewable energy

On the other hand, the higher the costs of electricity, the shorter the pay back time for example for a private pv (photo voltaic) system. As you can see in the image below, the pv system is connected to the grid. The user will not notice the difference between their “own” electricity and the electricity from the grid. But as a result, you have to buy less electricity from the power company, and the higher the energy prices, the more you save. Depending on the local regulations you can even produce more power than you need and get paid for this by your electricity company.

Renewable Energy for Boats

But was does this mean for my boat? Will I be able to sail around using only renewable energy any time soon? Well, probably no. At least not straight away. It means that more people will start using renewable energy and as a result the costs of renewable energy will go down. Not only for domestic use, but as well for the nautical industry. Either by installing for example a pv system on the boat, or by charging at a shore station that is powered with renewable energy. There are many examples in the Netherlands where shore charging stations are installed to charge boats. The systems used to charge electrical boats are constantly improving as well. As a result it will take less time to fully charge the batteries and boats will be able to sail longer. The ships from Grove Boats still need 8 hours to fully charge for sailing about 8 hours. Charging only using the sun takes even longer. Passenger boats that travel specific routes and make very predictable trips so they can adapt the power supply on the demands. Private boats that make unpredictable trips and go to unknown places have more difficulty when they are not sure if they easily and rapidly can charge their boat. This still needs improvements. But the future looks bright!