BERLIN, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A boom in solar power in Germany, while good for the environment, could crash the country's aging power grid, experts say.
Solar power fed into the national grid comes intermittently depending on the sun, and huge surges can come in midday rather than in the evening when demand is high, NewScientist.com reports.
Small surges can be accommodated by taking conventional power station generators offline to keep the overall supply in the grid constant.
But if solar power input surges past certain levels it could exceed demand even with all generators switched off and could cause overloads and blackouts, engineers say.
At current rates of solar power installation, capacity will soon reach those levels, Stephan Kohler, head of Germany's energy agency, said in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung.
Solar capacity could reach 30 gigawatts, equal to Germany's weekend power consumption, by the end of next year, he said.
The German Solar Industry Federation says concerns are overblown, claiming that extra solar energy takes the pressure off high-voltage power lines because it tends to be generated close to where it is used.
The grid would only need to be strengthened in some rural areas where solar supply can exceed demand, the federation says.
