Bavaria's energy concept / A record-breaking fuel cell
Süddeutsche Zeitung
“An energy concept that electrifies no one”
Bavaria will have to import 40-50 percent of its consumed electricity in 2025, Daniela Kuhr writes in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The state’s economy minister Ilse Aigner has presented an energy concept that envisages 25 percent of the power to come from hydro- and solar power, 15 percent from biomass and five percent from wind. But the opposition claimed that this would reduce the development targets for solar and wind power – and that biomass was already making up 17 percent. The concept was not a developing plan but a retreat, Green Party head Ludwig Hartmann said. Bavaria should aim for 70-80 percent domestic coverage of power consumption, he argued.
Forschungszentrum Jülich
“World record: Jülich fuel cell runs for over 70,000 hours”
Scientists at the Jülich research centre announced they have broken a world record by running a high temperature ceramic fuel cell stack for over 70,000 hours - or eight years. These solid oxide fuel cells are suitable for household and small business energy needs, as well as large-scale transport such as trucks, trains and ships, the Forschungszentrum Jülich said in a press release.
See the press release in German here.
See CLEW's dossier on technology and the Energiewende here.
E.ON
“E.ON’s Amrumbank West offshore wind farm is fully operational”
E.ON has announced the completion of its 1 billion-euro Amrumbank West offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. The 80 turbines, with combined capacity of 288 megawatts, are now connected to the grid and expected to produce enough power for 300,000 homes.
See the press release in English here.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe
High NOx in Opel Zafira diesel car
The DUH has presented results of exhaust emissions tests which find that the Opel Zafira 1.6 CDTi emitted up to 17 times the permitted level of nitrogen oxide. The organisation said that tests of other German and foreign passenger vehicles have been ordered.
See the press release in German here.
Road to Paris – COP21
WirtschaftsWoche
“Climate summit in Paris will not result in joint obligations”
The history of climate negotiations shows that handing in climate action plans is one thing - but abiding by them is a different story, German economist Axel Ockenfels, from the University of Cologne, told the WirtschaftsWoche. “Paris won’t slow down climate change considerably and it won’t result in a joint obligation,” he said. Ockenfels suggests that states should negotiate about a global price on CO2 emissions. Such a price would disadvantage no one and governments could invest the generated revenue in lowering other costs.
Read the article in German here.
SWR2
“Hendricks: ‘Bring on Paris’”
The climate agreement of Paris will not be the finishing point, Germany’s Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told SWR2 in an interview. But it was important that some decisions in it are binding, such as the 2°C warming limit for the end of the century and how CO2 emissions are measured, she said. Every country also had to become more and more ambitious in their climate targets, she added.
Listen to the interview in German here.
Potsdam Institute for Climate Research
“National contributions provide entry point for the low-carbon transformation”
Commitments to reduce emissions so far submitted by countries ahead of COP21 fall short of keeping global warming below 2°C, according to a report published by a consortium of 14 research institutes, including the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research (PIK). But they do “imply an unprecedented acceleration and consolidation of action against climate change in major economies around the world” and “can serve as an entry point for the deep low-carbon transformation”. PIK said the success of the agreement would depend on a mechanism to strengthen commitments by 2020.
See the press release in English here.
