In the media: power market design, cost of coal, windpower and tourism
FAZ/dpa
“Coal sector resists Gabriel’s plans”
Germany’s energy sector believes it has already done plenty to increase efficiency and reach climate protection targets, according to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), quoted in the FAZ. Energy sector bosses are therfore asking for CO2 reduction to be linked to payments to fossil powered stations, the article says.
See the article in German here.
Tagesspiegel Online
“Lignite as a bridging technology – a costly fairy tale”
Axel Vogel, head of the Green parliamentary group in the Brandenburg state parliament, writes in an opinion piece for the Tagesspiegel Online that lignite is neither cheap nor secure. Keeping lignite mining and power generation in Brandenburg alive, as the state premier has suggested, would slow the development of renewable energies. Lignite reserves are finite and not a fuel for the future, Vogel says. Nevertheless, the Swedish utility Vattenfall must keep its operations in Brandenburg and ensure a smooth and a socially acceptable coal phase-out, Vogel says.
See the op-ed in German here.
Handelsblatt
“A new order for the power market”
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) suggests a alternative design for the electricity market, Klaus Stratmann writes in the Handelsblatt. While Germany’s utilities favour a capacity market, the BDI favours a “supply stability reserve” that builds on the existing system of capacity kept in reserve in case of peaks in power demand. The industry lobby believes this will be the less expensive option compared to capacity markets, Stratmann explains.
Spiegel Online/AFP/dpa
“Green power discount: EU Commission protects Germany’s electricity guzzlers”
In an anxiously waited decision, the European Commission has largely approved discounts for energy-intensive industry on the green energy surcharge added to consumer energy bills, says a report published on Spiegel Online. Hundreds of German businesses were exempted from paying most the levy for the development of renewable energy sources in 2013 and 2014. The EU commission questioned whether this amounted to a distortion of the market in violation of competition rules. The decision from Brussels on Tuesday means that only a small part of the discount will be have to paid back, the report says.
Read the article in German here.
Read the EU commission's release here.
University of Duisburg
"The Energiewende: politically thwarted"
The University of Duisburg has released a study finding that a complicated regulatory process and a lack of options for storing and disposing of radioactive material and equipment is holding back the retiring of Germany’s nuclear power plants. The report’s authors say politics must find solutions as quickly as possible.
See the press release in German here.
University of Gießen
“Windpower doesn’t seem to scare off tourists”
A survey by the University of Giessen conducted in the tourist region of the Vogelsberg in central Germany found that fears of wind turbines impacting tourism were largely unfounded. Only 11 percent of visitors said the expansion of wind power production in the region would be a reason not to come back.
See the press release in German here.
Deutsche Welle
“Germany cuts coal to reach climate targets”
Reporting for Deutsche Welle, Gero Reuter writes that the German government is set to introduce legislation forcing power producers to reduce CO2 emissions by an extra 22 million tons by 2020. According to government figures another 62 to 100 tons of CO2 must be cut from power stations, heating and transport if Germany is to reach its 2020 climate coals. The opposition Green Party welcomed the move as a “step in the right direction,” the article says, while industry voices warn of rising power prices.
See the article in English here.
