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Siemens says German energy switch on track for failure on costs
April 30, 2013 by Stefan Nicola in Bloomberg News

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.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

Merkel's no-nuke stumble may erode re-election support
April 11, 2013 by Stefan Nicola in Bloomberg News

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.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Merkel Losing Allies in $700 Billion Shift to Renewables
April 5, 2013 by Stefan Nicola & Tino Andresen in Bloomberg News

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."

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Time of the essence for Germany's energy switch: Merkel
March 8, 2013 by Madeline Chambers in Reuters

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.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

German 'green revolution' may cost 1 trillion euros - minister
February 20, 2013 by Alexandra Hudson and Markus Wacket in Reuters

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.

Green Energy push bites hand that feeds growth
January 28, 2013 by Sheenagh Matthews in Bloomberg News

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.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Berlin to exempt 1,550 firms from electricity surcharge
December 24, 2012 in Der Spiegel

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.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

Germans face hefty bill to end nuclear power
October 15, 2012 by Juergen Baetz in Associated Press

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.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Germany speeds offshore wind expansion, slaps costs on consumers
August 29, 2012 by Jan Hromadko and Beate Preuschoff in Wall Street Journal

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.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

German offshore wind sector needs more than just new law: executives
August 28, 2012 by Christoph Steitz in Reuters

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.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

German solar firms eclipsed by Chinese rivals
September 7, 2011 by Dietmar Hawranek, Alexander Jung, Nils Klawitter and Wieland Wagner in Der Spiegel

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.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| Asia]

Bayer chief warns firms may leave Germany over energy costs
August 6, 2011 in Yahoo News

"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.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

Bloated German solar sector costly for power market
January 7, 2011 by Vera Eckert and Henning Gloystein in Reuters

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."

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

German savings banks eclipse Deutsche on solar funds
May 4, 2009 by Claudia Rach and Jeremy van Loon in Bloomberg News

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.

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