In the media: City of Berlin to exit coal by 2020

Die Welt

“Berlin wants to close its coal-fired power plants by 2020”

The German capital of Berlin will shut its four remaining coal-fired power plants by 2020, according to provisional results from a parliamentary inquiry committee on the city’s future energy supply, Die Welt reports. All five political parties, as well as independent experts, have also agreed to renovate all public buildings by 2050, bringing them up to modern energy efficiency standards. Committee head Jörg Stroedter lamented that Berlin lagged well behind its renovation goals, but said, “we have to achieve our aim to become a climate-neutral city by 2050.”

See the report in German here.

Dow Jones Newswires

“Hesse’s government believes second energy summit is unnecessary”

The government of regional state Hesse has rejected opposition demands for a new “energy summit” to clarify the need for electricity superhighways to link northern wind power to southern industries, Dow Jones reports. Hesse’s CDU-Green coalition government said 2011's cross-party agreement to cover all the state's heating and power needs with renewable sources by 2050, will be consistently implemented. Opposition Social Democrats had demanded a faster transition to green energy, while the liberal Free Democratic Party complained the countryside would be covered in wind turbines. Hesse’s state premier Volker Bouffier last week questioned the need for the grid extension, dubbed Suedlink, following in the footsteps of Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer.

See CLEW's report on Bavarian resistance to electricity superhighways here.

See the CLEW Dossier Germany's power grid here.

Reuters

“Gabriel signals compromise on location of power lines”

Germany’s Minister for Energy and Economic Affairs, Sigmar Gabriel, has signalled he is ready to compromise with Bavaria's regional government on the location of electricity superhighways, according to a Reuters report. The power lines would not need to follow the precise course suggested by grid operators, said Gabriel. “Of course we can talk about alternatives,” the minister said. But he warned that transmission lines were needed, otherwise the energy transition might grind to a halt.