Farmers ask for 1bn euros due to heat / Solar power support rate cut
Federal Network Agency
The German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has decided to reduce the support rate for new solar power installations as capacity expansion in the sector exceeds the level determined by the government, the agency says in a press release. The support rate will be cut by 1 percent per month for all solar power installations that start operation between the beginning of August and the end of October 2018, the BNetzA says. The government’s expansion path stipulates a gross capacity expansion of 2,500 megawatts (MW) in 2018.
Find the press release in German here.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
German Farmers’ Association President Joachim Rukwied is calling for government assistance totalling one billion euros to be distributed to farmers, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The aim of Rukwied’s proposal is to help farmers, whose harvests are more than 30 percent below the average of recent years, according to the association. Federal agriculture minister Julia Klöckner is expected to inform her cabinet colleagues on 1 August of the challenges facing farmers due to the extreme weather conditions, with a decision on the merits of further assistance not due to be made until after the end-August harvest balance, the article says.
Read the article in German here.
Frankfurter Rundschau
As Germany continues to experience record-breaking heat, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is calling for increased efforts to both cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changes brought on by global warming, Joachim Wille writes in the Frankfurter Rundschau. Specific recommendations include the expansion of urban green spaces; the development of fresh air corridors; the creation of heat wave action plans and warning systems; and the use of heat-resistant varieties of crops in the agricultural sector, Wille writes. UBA President Maria Krautzberger also criticised Germany’s expected failure to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, and called for the implementation of measures that would reduce the country’s carbon pollution.
Read the article in German here.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
Extreme weather events like the heat wave currently gripping Germany are expected to become more frequent in the future, necessitating both meaningful climate protection and adaptation to the inevitable consequences of global warming, federal environment minister Svenja Schulze said in an interview with the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. The German agricultural sector, in particular, must adapt to changing climate patterns, and the upcoming reform at the EU level presents a good opportunity to put it on the path to doing so, she added.
Read the interview in German here.
For background, read the article New German environment minister faces steep uphill battle on climate.
E.ON
German utility E.ON has successfully completed the voluntary public takeover offer to innogy minority shareholders, E.ON has announced in a press release. Including RWE’s 76.8 percent stake in innogy, E.ON will hold 86.2 percent of the company’s shares upon completion of the transaction. In mid-July, E.ON and RWE reached agreements with innogy to cooperate on the planned integration of the company into the two electric utilities.
Read the press release in English here.
For background, read the CLEW article RWE and E.ON overhaul power sector - German reactions to innogy deal, the dossier Utilities and the energy transition, and the factsheet Germany’s largest utilities at a glance.
Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change
The political feasibility of carbon pricing depends more on public acceptance than on issues related to cost efficiency and economic benefits, a new study published by the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change has found. In an accompanying press release, the institute writes that, to achieve high public acceptance, designers of carbon pricing schemes should take into account political, economic, cultural, and social circumstances when determining how to allocate carbon tax revenues. Communication and terminology are also important factors to keep in mind, according to the press release.
Read the press release in English here, and purchase or rent the study in English here.
For background, read the articles Energy minister rejects idea of changing fees and taxes on energy and German environment minister open to national carbon price.
Clean Energy Wire / AG Energiebilanzen
Energy consumption in Germany decreased by one percent in the first half of 2018, compared to the same period in the previous year, the energy market research group AG Energiebilanzen said on Tuesday. After the first three months, there had been a five percent increase due to the very cold weather in February and March but the following warmer months made up for this.
In the half-year reports of 2017 and 2016, the AG Energiebilanzen recorded an increase in energy usage so 2018 marks the first year where consumption has fallen in a year-on-year comparison.
Although the share of renewables has increased to 14 percent in primary energy consumption in the first half of 2018, the majority of energy is still supplied by fossil fuels (79.6%).
Find the press release in German here.
Please note: CLEW will publish an article on this subject later today.
