Gas might replace nuclear plant / Next Kraftwerke finds investor
Welt
German utility RWE may build a gas power plant to replace power generation currently provided by nuclear power station Gundremmingen in Bavaria, writes Michael Gassmann in Welt. One of the two remaining reactors at Gundremmingen is scheduled for shutdown this December. The new plant could be constructed close to the site of the nuclear facility and could help stabilise the grid when the nuclear reactor is taken off at the end of the year, according to Gassmann. Both remaining nuclear reactors covered about one fourth of Bavaria鈥檚 power needs in 2015, writes Gassmann.
Read the article in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The challenges of Germany鈥檚 nuclear phase-out and the 威力彩玩法 factsheet How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Affordable climate protection is the most important task for the energy industry - and gas-fired power generation could be key, says Timm Kehler, director of natural gas industry group Zukunft Erdgas, writes Volker Budinger in an article part of a natural gas special in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 鈥淲e anticipate that CO鈧� abatement costs will become an important parameter when looking at technology costs,鈥� says Kehler.
威力彩玩法 / Next Kraftwerke
Virtual power plant specialist Next Kraftwerke, one of Germany鈥檚 best known energy start-ups, has sold a minority stake of 34 percent to Dutch renewable utility Eneco. The deal would boost its expansion in Europe, and 鈥渃ontribute to the joint ambition of Eneco Group and Next Kraftwerke to accelerate the energy transition by means of technology, enabling more renewable and decentralized energy鈥�, the company said in a press release.
Next Kraftwerke founder and CEO Jochen Schwill told the 威力彩玩法 鈥渁 certain size is necessary鈥� for the next step in his company鈥檚 development. He said Next Kraftwerke chose the Dutch company as an investor over German utilities because Eneco鈥檚 orientation was a better fit, allowed his company to remain largely independent, and was a better stepping stone for European expansion.
Next Kraftwerke was founded in 2009 and calls itself 鈥渁 power plant operator without any power plants.鈥� It uses its network of more than 4,000 renewable installations with a total capacity exceeding 2.8 gigawatts to trade power and balance the grid.
Read the press release in English .
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
The German energy sector is slowly embracing digitalisation with its push towards decentralisation, writes Ulrich Sch盲fer in a column in S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. It is starting to depart from 鈥渢he centralistic, military precision鈥� thinking and management. TenneT and Sonnen鈥檚 planned network of decentralised storage systems and E.ON鈥檚 partnership with Google showed that the industry 鈥� 鈥渁s one of the last economic sectors鈥� 鈥� slowly became more digital, writes Sch盲fer.
Read the column piece in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 article Pilot project taps batteries & blockchain to iron out renewable power.
Welt Online
In the aftermath of Dieselgate, Germany should not make the same mistake with regard to the energy transition by phasing out a technology without having enough alternatives, writes Nikolaus Doll in an opinion piece for Welt Online. This would be counterproductive and lead to more emissions, Doll writes. Pushing diesel motors out of the market would increase sales of CO鈧�-intensive petrol engines. 鈥淲ith the Energiewende, we drove the German energy companies into a wall. With diesel-bashing and driving bans, we might send the auto industry down the same path,鈥� writes Doll.
Read the opinion piece in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.
The Telegraph
The UK Conservative Party鈥檚 proposal to put a price cap on standard energy tariffs could 鈥渞eally ruin things鈥� for the business of German energy company E.ON in the UK and 鈥渘ot end up benefiting consumers鈥�, according to the company鈥檚 chief financial officer Marc Spieker, writes Jillian Ambrose in The Telegraph.
Read the article in English .
Handelsblatt
RWE鈥檚 CEO Rolf Martin Schmitz plans to reorganise the company鈥檚 senior management, writes J眉rgen Flauger in Handelsblatt, citing company sources. Subsidiaries RWE Power 鈥� responsible for lignite and nuclear power 鈥� and RWE Generation, which deals with gas, hard coal and hydro power generation will get separate executives. The move creates more flexibility for the company, writes Flauger. RWE Power could better concentrate on lignite mining in the Rhenish region, while it would be easier for RWE Generation to take part in consolidating conventional power generation in Europe, and even take over competitors.
Read the article (behind paywall) in German and find an English version (behind paywall) .
