www.windaction.org

German energy shift faces headwinds
May 19, 2013 in Nuclear Power Daily

There has also been a resurgence of cheap coal, considered a dirtier energy source, abetted by a market failure in the European carbon emission trade. An oversupply in the right-to-pollute certificates has seen their price fall from an envisioned 15-18 euros per tonne of CO2 to just two to three euros -- making coal plants an economically attractive option once more.

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 [ Impact on Economy]

Germany's clean energy drive fails to curb dirty brown coal
April 26, 2013 by Vera Eckert and Christoph Steitz in Reuters

Germany's green energy drive is proving surprisingly good for dirty brown coal as utilities squeezed by rival renewables and low wholesale gas prices use more of it.

RWE's CEO warns of expenses boom in energy turnaround - report
April 18, 2013 in See News Energy

The success of the turnaround is not only to be evaluated after the volume of the installed solar and wind capacity but also if the energy supply remains safe and affordable, he added.

Also filed under [ Europe]

Funding Shortfall: Germany Forced to Cancel Climate Programs
March 17, 2013 in Der Spiegel

That the German government is facing a massive budget shortfall for projects aimed at transforming the country into a model of alternative energy and environmental friendliness is hardly new. The European cap-and-trade system has for months been sliding into inconsequence as prices for CO2 emissions have stubbornly remained below €5 ($6.47) per ton.

Also filed under [ Europe]

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 [ Impact on Economy]

Germany debates fracking as energy costs rise
March 1, 2013 by William Boston in Wall Street Journal

Subsidies for renewable-energy producers that are financed in part through household electricity bills are causing electricity prices for ordinary consumers and industry to rise. Germany's biggest industrial power consumers have seen electricity prices per kilowatt hour rise nearly 40% in the past five years.

Is German renewable energy biting the Mittelstand hand that feeds GDP?
January 28, 2013 by Sheenagh Matthews in Bloomberg News

“The fundamental question is whether we want to push through this crazy 80 percent renewable energy share at the expense of the economy,” said Marc Tenbieg, managing director of the DMB Deutsche Mittelstands-Bund, which represents more than 14,000 small and mid-sized enterprises. “Why do we always have to be the trailblazer and show the other countries how it’s done? They are laughing their heads off.”

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 [ Impact on Economy]

German Energy Agency Chief : 'We'll need conventional power plants until 2050'
December 11, 2012 in Der Spiegel

Stephan Kohler, the head of the German Energy Agency, says the country must act smarter and more realistically in its transition to renewable energy. The "feel-good" subsidies for locally produced wind and solar power have had unintended consequences, he says, and the environmental movement is often part of the problem.

Germany hikes electricity charge to finance renewables
October 15, 2012 by Richard Carter in Yahoo News

In total, the network operators hope to collect more than 20 billion euros to subsidise renewable energies. ..."The increase in this charge is manageable for many households, but there are also very poor, low-income households which could be negatively affected by this type of price rise," she said.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Germany backs charging consumers to cut offshore wind risks
August 29, 2012 by Stefan Nicola in Washington Post

The draft bill endorsed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet of Ministers would make power consumers pay as much as 0.25 euro cents a kilowatt-hour if wind farm owners can't sell their electricity because of delays in connecting turbines to the grid. The plan is aimed at raising investments after utilities threatened to halt projects.

Also filed under [ USA]

Germany hits brakes on race to renewable energy future
August 28, 2012 in Spiegel Online

At issue is the German Renewable Energy Act, which requires power companies to buy wind and solar energy from producers at fixed prices, which are much higher than electricity produced by traditional methods such as coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. At the same time, power-hungry industries receive generous subsidies ...German consumers have to cough up the difference.

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 [ Impact on Economy]

Merkel's green shift forces Germany to burn more coal
August 20, 2012 by Stefan Nicola and Tino Andresen in Bloomberg News

Germany's largest utilities RWE and EON AG (EOAN) are shunning cleaner-burning natural gas because it's more costly, while the collapsing cost of carbon permits means there's little penalty for burning coal. Wind and solar projects, central to Germany's plans to reduce nuclear energy and cut the release of heat- trapping gases, can't produce electricity around the clock.

Brown coal makes a comeback amid protests
August 1, 2012 by Frederike Schulz in Deutsche Welle

In an interview with German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, Altmaier said “with 35 percent of power from renewable sources, that still leaves 65 percent to be covered. It makes sense to replace old brown and black coal-fired plants which aren't good for the environment with modern and efficient coal and gas-fired power plants.”

Germany’s energy transformation: Energiewende
July 28, 2012 in The Economist

German plans to cut carbon emissions with renewable energy are ambitious, but they are also risky.

Doubts rising over German switch to renewables
July 17, 2012 by David Crossland in Spiegel Online

Germany's revolutionary switch to renewable energies is stalling and the country's new environment minister has now admitted as much by casting doubt on the ambitious goals set last year. Media commentators say that he and the rest of Chancellor Merkel's government must do more.

Also filed under [ Transmission]

Germans cough up for solar subsidies
July 5, 2012 by Alexander Neubacher and Catalina Schröder in Spiegel Online

Solar subsidies cost German consumers billions of dollars a year and are widely regarded as inefficient. Even environmentalists are concerned that Berlin's focus on solar comes at the detriment of other renewables. But the solar industry has a powerful lobby, and politicians have proven powerless to resist.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Germany rejects subsidies for energy projects, says market can provide
June 5, 2012 by Beate Preuschoff and Franziska Scheven in Nasdaq

Almost a year after Germany decided to shift away from nuclear power and sharply raise production from renewable sources, critics doubt that the move will go ahead as scheduled. The government has so far failed to present a plan for filling the gap in its future energy capacity, as the switch has proven more difficult than initially thought.

News

Energy Policy and Germany