Germans 鈥渟urprisingly鈥� climate-sceptic / First onshore wind tender
Cardiff University / Climate Outreach / klimafakten.de
Renewables are the most positively received energy sources for Germans, while the country鈥檚 population largely rejects higher electricity prices and taxes on fossil sources, according to a four-country cross-national survey by Cardiff University, Climate Outreach, and others, which was presented by klimafakten.de* in Berlin. Other findings:
- With 16 percent of German respondents saying they do not believe in climate change, Germans are most sceptical among the four countries surveyed (United Kingdom, France, Norway). 鈥淭hat surprised me,鈥� said Ortwin Renn, scientific director of IASS, who was also involved in the study.
- Only 24 percent of German respondents believe that the vast majority of scientists (80 percent or more) agree that climate change is happening and that humans are largely causing it, compared to 30 percent in the UK, 33 percent in France and 35 percent in Norway. The actual number is 97 percent, according to several studies, klimafakten.de says in a press release. 鈥淣ot even every third German knows that climate scientists are very, very sure and agree very, very much,鈥� said klimafakten.de director Carel Mohn.
- 35 percent of German respondents trust local governments 鈥渜uite a bit/very much鈥� to transform the energy system towards the use of cleaner forms of energy, the highest trust in any institution in any of the four countries.
The complete survey results are available in English , and a press release in German .
Find a Guardian article on the study in English .
*Like the 威力彩玩法, klimafakten.de is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.听听
Federal Network Agency
The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) launched Germany鈥檚 first onshore wind tender, introduced by last year鈥檚 reform of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), the agency says in a press release. Tenders affect facilities with an installed capacity larger than 750 kilowatts (kW). In this round of bidding a total volume of 800 megawatts is tendered, and bids must not exceed 7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Read the press release in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet What to do with the nuclear waste 鈥� the storage question dossier The reform of the Renewable Energy Act.
German transmission grid operators published their provisional route proposals for SuedLink and SuedOstLink, the direct current high-voltage power lines to connect Germany鈥檚 windy north with the power-hungry south. The routes were 鈥渘ot set in stone,鈥� said 50Hertz鈥檚 CEO Boris Schucht, and the operators expected legal challenges to their proposals, according to newspaper Tagesspiegel. Due to protests by affected citizens, the federal government decided聽new direct current transmission lines should be laid predominantly聽underground. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) is now examining the proposals. Final routes will be decided by 2020 and construction finished by 2025, Tagesspiegel reports.
Find the press releases in German and , the Tagesspiegel article in German and the BNetzA press release in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 factsheets Loop flows: Why is wind power from northern Germany putting east European grids under pressure? and Re-dispatch costs in the German power grid.
威力彩玩法
Germany will need an 鈥渆fficiency revolution鈥� to reach its target of halving energy consumption by 2050, according to energy state secretary Rainer Baake. At a conference by the German Industry Initiative for Energy Efficiency (DENEFF)聽 in Berlin, Baake said the consultation for his ministry鈥檚 Green Paper on energy efficiency had revealed broad support for establishing an 鈥渆fficiency first鈥� principle. He said a dedicated efficiency law could make sense if it contained concrete targets.
Baake said his ministry planned to release a white paper on the issue before the election, adding he hoped the new government would turn it into reality. He also lamented that concrete policy measures to increase efficiency were always met with many concerns, even though everybody was in favour of efficiency in theory.
Also read yesterday鈥檚 article State Sec sees efficient sector-coupling gaining ground post-election.
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet From ideas to laws 鈥� how Energiewende policy is shaped and the dossier The Energiewende and Efficiency.
Handelsblatt
The planned law on energy efficiency in public buildings will be further delayed due to disagreements within the government coalition of conservatives (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD), writes Klaus Stratmann in Handelsblatt. 鈥淏uildings are key for climate protection. They produce 30 percent of German CO鈧� emissions,鈥� writes Stratmann. The current draft obliges the federal, as well as state and municipal governments to invest more in the energy efficiency of their buildings, but does not cover private buildings.
Read the article in German .
For more information read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and Efficiency.
Rheinische Post
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks called the search for a final repository for Germany鈥檚 nuclear waste a 鈥渢est case for our democracy鈥�, reports Rheinische Post. The search would require citizens to take on responsibility. 鈥淣ot in my backyard鈥� would no longer suffice as the only reason to oppose a repository, Hendricks told Rheinische Post.
A on the repository search by the governing coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD, as well as the Green Party, is currently debated by German lawmakers.
Read the article in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The challenges of Germany鈥檚 nuclear phase-out.
Between 1.5 and 2.8 million birds die each year in Germany from colliding with high-voltage overhead power lines, according to a report published by Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). 鈥淚n light of the transmission grid expansion needed for the energy transition, the protection of birds must receive much higher attention in each individual project planned,鈥� NABU says in a press release. The number of bird deaths from such collisions with power lines is likely to be higher than from electric shocks or collisions with wind turbines, says NABU.
Read the press release in German聽聽and the report in German聽.
