www.windaction.org | facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss Siemens says German energy switch on track for failure on costs http://www.windaction.org/articles/38262 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:14:35 GMT Germany is burning more coal because gas plants are not economical, subsidies for renewables are pushing up power prices, and a greater share of fluctuating renewables threaten the stability of electrical grids, Michael Suess, chief executive officer of Siemens Energy, said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38262 Merkel's no-nuke stumble may erode re-election support http://www.windaction.org/articles/38043 Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:26:18 GMT Merkel's main opponent in the election, Peer Steinbrueck of the Social Democratic Party, is capitalizing on discontent with the energy switch. In December, he said at an SPD summit that Germans now live in fear of power outages because of government missteps. One month later, the SPD beat Merkel's CDU in a vote in Lower Saxony -- the third straight regional defeat for the incumbent party and a sign that its lead in the national election may be eroding. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38043 Merkel Losing Allies in $700 Billion Shift to Renewables http://www.windaction.org/articles/37973 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:43:57 GMT With consumer power bills increasing and Merkel facing elections in September, Germany's energy policy is rising on the political agenda. The cost of developing wind farms in the North Sea has surged following construction glitches and delays in linking turbines to the grid. "The entire energy switch has derailed," Marc Nettelbeck, an analyst at DZ Bank AG, said this week by phone from Frankfurt. "The difficulties connecting offshore wind farms to the power grid reduces their profitability and renders the original investment calculations of utilities invalid." http://www.windaction.org/articles/37973 Time of the essence for Germany's energy switch: Merkel http://www.windaction.org/articles/37694 Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:31:17 GMT But six months before a federal election, questions remain, not least how to pay for the shift. Consumers are wary about the extent to which they will foot the bill and Merkel wants to reassure voters that she is trying to curb steep rises in power prices caused in part by subsidies for renewable energy. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37694 German 'green revolution' may cost 1 trillion euros - minister http://www.windaction.org/articles/37442 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:20:35 GMT Germany's transition to renewable energy may cost up to 1 trillion euros ($1.34 trillion) in the next two decades, the environment minister said on Wednesday, piling pressure on his opponents to back plans to cap power price rises before the election. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37442 Green Energy push bites hand that feeds growth http://www.windaction.org/articles/37169 Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:10:40 GMT The price of weaning the country off nuclear energy by 2022 is crushing the so-called Mittelstand, the three million small and medium-sized businesses like Worlee that account for about half of gross domestic product. "It could be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back," Chief Executive Officer Reinhold von Eben-Worlee said in an interview. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37169 Berlin to exempt 1,550 firms from electricity surcharge http://www.windaction.org/articles/36859 Mon, 24 Dec 2012 16:41:43 GMT Germany plans to exempt 1,550 large firms from a power price surcharge that covers part of the cost of switching to renewable energy. Critics say the list of exemptions is spurious and unfair to households and small businesses. It risks undermining faith in the government's switch to clean power. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36859 Germans face hefty bill to end nuclear power http://www.windaction.org/articles/36314 Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:54:04 GMT The country's four main grid operators said Monday that households will from January see a nearly 50 percent rise in the tax they pay to finance the switchover - from €3.6 cents to €5.3 cents ($6.7 cents) per kilowatt hour. A typical family of four will pay about €250 ($324) per year under the tariff, including a sales tax. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36314 Germany speeds offshore wind expansion, slaps costs on consumers http://www.windaction.org/articles/35894 Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:30:51 GMT Wednesday's proposals also coincide with a debate about spiraling electricity costs for private households ...Holger Krawinkel, head of energy issues at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, said that the plan to pass on costs will further increase the bills that householders have to pay for the planned expansion of renewable energies. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35894 German offshore wind sector needs more than just new law: executives http://www.windaction.org/articles/35872 Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:12:15 GMT Grid operators are reluctant to build power lines at sea because they have to pay compensation should they break down. So many wind farms could lack the means to transfer the power they are generating back to the mainland. The government is trying to pass on those costs to power consumers to reduce the risk for investors. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35872 German solar firms eclipsed by Chinese rivals http://www.windaction.org/articles/32937 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:01:34 GMT Green energy used to be Germany's great hope for its economic future. But now the German solar industry is in trouble amid huge losses, job cuts and the threat of bankruptcies. Chinese firms are gaining an ever greater share of the German market -- and are benefiting from German subsidies for renewable energy. http://www.windaction.org/articles/32937 Bayer chief warns firms may leave Germany over energy costs http://www.windaction.org/articles/32694 Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:25:24 GMT "It is important that we remain competitive in comparison with other countries. If not, a company of global stature like Bayer can think about moving its production to countries where energy costs are lower," he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/32694 Bloated German solar sector costly for power market http://www.windaction.org/articles/30676 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:08:16 GMT Like solar, wind generation varies greatly depending on weather conditions. Power prices have dropped to negative values already at times of extreme wind supply and low demand. ..."If Germany adds 5 GW of solar this year, we may end up with over 50 GW of volatile wind and solar capacity that can't be controlled according to demand." http://www.windaction.org/articles/30676 German savings banks eclipse Deutsche on solar funds http://www.windaction.org/articles/21046 Mon, 04 May 2009 19:03:26 GMT German savings banks are handing out more loans to renewable-energy projects as corporate rivals retreat from financing the world's biggest solar-panel market. The 438 savings banks financed 45 percent of the 5.3 billion euros ($7 billion) invested in solar and wind power projects in 2008, while loans from major corporate lenders including Deutsche Bank AG shrank to 0.8 percent. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21046 Planning of the Grid Integration of Wind Energy in Germany Onshore and Offshore up to the Year 2020 http://www.windaction.org/articles/493 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 05:00:00 GMT Introduction:

A reasonably priced and reliable electricity supply is an important location factor for the development of an economy. Against this background, it is necessary to investigate the demands placed on the entire system for the generation and transmission of electrical energy, which in future must again be optimised for the integration of the inevitably increasing amount of electricity generated from wind energy. The economic effects resulting from this must also be determined. Maintaining the current level of reliability of supply must be included here as an important boundary condition....

]]> Concept for a step-by-step extension of the transmission grid in Germany for the connection and integration of wind turbines onshore and offshore taking into account the production and power station developments and the necessary regulating and reserve power. Introduction: A reasonably priced and reliable electricity supply is an important location factor for the development of an economy. Against this background, it is necessary to investigate the demands placed on the entire system for the generation and transmission of electrical energy, which in future must again be optimised for the integration of the inevitably increasing amount of electricity generated from wind energy. The economic effects resulting from this must also be determined. Maintaining the current level of reliability of supply must be included here as an important boundary condition.... http://www.windaction.org/articles/493 Germany’s offshore wind: Wasted resources, environmental blight http://www.windaction.org/articles/30222 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:26:23 GMT Europe's energy consumers must pay 20 cents per kWh generated, plus an additional 5 cents per kWh for transmission costs. They must pay this regardless of whether they need the electricity at the moment, and despite the fact that a kWh of wind electricity is worth less than 3 cents on the Leipzig Power Exchange, due to the intermittent and highly variable nature of wind. http://www.windaction.org/articles/30222 The high price of free power http://www.windaction.org/articles/2246 Tue, 28 Mar 2006 12:28:52 GMT If wind energy really is the energy of the future, as the developers claim, it must prove itself in the market without government subsidies. This has not yet happened anywhere; the projections are all based on artificial models with hidden costs -- costs for you and me, the taxpayers and consumers. http://www.windaction.org/articles/2246