In the media: Germany emits less CO2, wind-boom in the North, possible coal-flop in Hamburg
Handelsblatt / Tagesspiegel / BMUB
“Germany produces fewer carbon emissions”
Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions are likely to have fallen by three percent in 2014, according to Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks who quoted figures obtained from the AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB), writes the Handelsblatt and other media. Not only the mild winter in the beginning of the year but also the development of renewable energies helped to reduce CO2 emissions after they had increased in 2012 and 2013. Renewable energy sources provided 27 percent of the power consumed in Germany in 2014, the ministry announced, while the use of coal and lignite decreased slightly. Overall energy consumption was down by nine percent compared to 2008, the Tagesspiegel writes.
Read the CLEW article “Renewables overtake lignite: German CO2 emissions fall in 2014” here.
See the Handelsblatt article in German here.
See the Tagesspiegel article in German here.
See the press release from the Ministry for Environment (BMUB) in German here.
Find the data on Germany’s power consumption by the AGEB here.
Tagesspiegel
“Good weather”
Mainly on the back of mild weather and partially due to new energy policies, 2014 was a good Energiewende year, Alfons Frese says in an opinion piece published by the Tagesspiegel. After a mild winter in 2013/2014, Germany’s power consumption fell to its lowest level in decades while renewables provided 27 percent of the electricity consumption. Reforming the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) and cutting subsidies for renewables technologies were Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel's greatest achievements during the year, the author says.
shz.de / Hamburger Abendblatt
“340 new wind turbines approved”
The development of wind power in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein is fast paced: 340 new wind turbines were approved in 2014, up by 41 approvals in 2013, writes shz.de. The new turbines translate into an investment of 1.1 billion euros, the article says. Energiewende Minister Robert Habeck said he was impressed but also called the increase “abrupt” since many investors wanted to get installations approved before the new EEG with its lower feed-in payments came into effect. By October 2014, 4000 megawatts of onshore wind power capacity were installed in Schleswig-Holstein – in the coming months some 2500 megawatts will be added, the Hamburger Abendblatt reports. Once this is achieved, the state will theoretically be able to cover its entire energy consumption from renewable sources.
The Energiewende Ministry of Schleswig-Holstein provides bi-annual data on wind power expansion here.
See the shz article in German here.
Bild
“Mega-flop Moorburg”
A large new coal-fired power station in Hamburg could turn into a bad investment for utility Vattenfall, Bild reports. The article cites both Economy Senator Frank Horch and Vattenfall spokeswoman Kristina Hillmer as saying that under current conditions, they would not have opted to build the power plant. A planned district heating project fed by the new plant would not be financially viable, according to a report by the BET-Institut in Aachen, Bild writes, concluding that it will be difficult for Vattenfall to earn money with the project. Vattenfall said the power station is going to go online in January and July 2015.
See the article in German here.
