The WindAction Group (www.windAction.org)
Facts, analysis, exposure to industrial wind energy's real impacts
Germany kicks off repowering talks as support cut-off looms for 16GW of wind
Government and industry today began talks about what to do with 16GW of onshore wind capacity due to exit Germany's old support scheme by 2025
Library filed under Taxes & Subsidies from Germany
“We are heading for a disaster” - Lower Saxony warns of the end of wind power subsidies
Berlin Olaf Lies expects the worst. Lower Saxony's energy and environment minister, together with the consulting firm Windguard, had the experts at his company determine the extent to which wind farms could go offline in the coming years because the subsidies for the systems according to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) will end. From the point of view of the SPD politician, the results are alarming: "We are heading for a catastrophe," Lies told the Handelsblatt.
Six-hour negative pricing rule damaging offshore wind revenues
Prices often drop below zero when there is excess wind and solar generation in the market, but fossil and nuclear power plants fail to throttle their output even though their generation costs are higher and renewables have priority grid access. This may be because a complete shutdown of conventional generation plants followed by a restart would cost operators more than continuing production at negative prices, or continued operation is required to supply district heating.
German government defeats plan to abolish fines for wind power projects
The Bundesrat’s bill, adopted on 14 February, aimed at suspending penalties for wind turbines that do not meet completion deadlines. According to Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), wind farm promoters must pay penalties if the project won in a tender is not completed within two years. The fine applies regardless of the reason for the delay,
Germany climate package 'lacking in courage and power'
Onshore wind continues to be held back by the insistence of chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party on fixing the minimum distance between wind turbines and residential housing at 1,000 metres. This move will "massively cut back the area available for wind energy", said the BEE. "It will throw regional and federal state planning [for wind energy] into chaos and endanger the whole wind sector," said Hermann Albers, president of BWE, the federal wind energy association.
Latest German wind tender launched
GERMANY: This year's fourth and final onshore wind tender will take place on 1 October, the federal network agency has announced.
Power prices go negative in Germany, a positive for energy users
The wholesale costs of power make up only about a fifth of the average household electricity bill in Germany. The rest is a stew of taxes, fees to finance renewable-energy investments and charges for use of the grid. That means their bills are lower than they otherwise would be, because power prices are sometimes negative, but utilities are not depositing money in customers’ bank accounts.
End of the subsidies: Old wind turbines will soon have to go offline
Wind power is the most important building block for the energy transition, but the phasing out of subsidies threatens countless wind turbines. In three years, a large part of the network could be taken out of service.
Taxpayer support for renewable energy simply cannot be justified
Move over, Ponzi; forget Bernie Madoff; ignore Enron; and dismiss collateralised debt obligations associated with subprime mortgages. Without a doubt, the biggest scam perpetrated against taxpayers and consumers is renewable energy. And if you think this scam is just an Australian phenomenon, think again. With very few exceptions, governments all over the world have fallen into the trap of paying renewable energy scammers on the basis that it is necessary, at least politically, to be seen to be doing something about climate change.
Wind Energy In the Doldrums: Germany's windmill producers have hit a dangerous lull after a change in the law on subsidies
Producers blame the decline on a loophole in a new law which seeks to minimize the amount of subsidy for new wind projects. New projects are approved in an auction with the lowest bidder getting the nod – at least theoretically. But lawmakers carved out special rules for the so-called “citizens’ energy companies” – cooperative-like entities that allow local communities to own new facilities.
Siemens puts plan to export wind turbine blades from UK on hold
Siemens has warned its plans to eventually export wind turbine blades from the UK will have to be put on hold because of last week’s Brexit vote.
Germany’s ereen energy transition hits low income families hardest
The green energy transition is becoming ever more expensive for consumers. By the end of 2016 an average household will incur additional charges of approximately 540 euros. This is evident from calculations by the Institute of the German Economy in Cologne (IW Köln) seen by Welt am Sonntag.
German 2016 green power surcharge at 6.354 cents/kWh -grid firms
A surcharge levied on German consumers to support renewable power will rise 3 percent next year, despite government efforts to scale back support for green power, a statement from the country's network operators (TSOs) showed on Thursday. ...A household using 3,500 kWh per year would have to pay 222.39 euros towards the EEG alone in 2016, 3 percent more than this year, retail portal Toptarif said.
German winds make Central Europe shiver
To put an end to the often unexpected power flows from Germany — so-called loop flows — the countries are taking the matter into their own hands. Concerned about the stability of their own grids, additional costs and the ability to export their own power, the Czechs, for example, are installing devices to block the power from 2016 onwards.
Berlin set to scrap plans for climate change levy on power sector
The plan to impose penalties on the oldest and most polluting power plants has been dropped ...The move illustrates the challenge Berlin faces as it attempts to meet its ambitious targets to combat climate change while safeguarding jobs. Despite a shift towards renewable energy, Germany still generates 44 per cent of its electricity from coal.
German utilities bail out electric grid at wind’s mercy
Twenty power companies including Germany’s biggest utilities, EON SE and RWE AG, now get fees for pledging to add or cut electricity within seconds to keep the power system stable, double the number in September, according to data from the nation’s four grid operators. Utilities that sign up to the 800 million-euro ($1.1 billion) balancing market can be paid as much as 400 times wholesale electricity prices, the data show.
Subsidies for Renewables, Good or Bad?
Generous subsidies for renewables are unsustainable and have contributed to electricity prices for residential consumers more than doubling in Germany, placing a strain on consumers and the economy there.
German lawmakers back wide-ranging revision of country's renewable energy law
Germany’s Bundestag has voted in favor of a wide-ranging revision of the nation's Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) to curbing subsidies and, the lawmakers hope, slow energy price increase.
German lawmakers vote to reduce renewable-energy subsidies
The legislation, which introduces limits on how much onshore wind and biomass capacity qualifies for the full subsidies and lowers existing targets for solar and offshore wind, pulls energy policy “out of the quicksand,” Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.
Green groups say German energy reform painful, despite concessions
Green groups in Germany warned on Wednesday that plans to scale back subsidies for renewable power would slow down the country's so-called 'energy revolution', saying last minute concessions to help wind farm companies were not enough.