Germany headed for solar record/ Electric cars as carmakers' cash cows
Bloomberg
Germany is headed for record solar power generation next week as forecasters predicted intense sunshine, reports Rachel Morison for Bloomberg. 鈥淥utput from photovoltaic panels in Germany could reach as high as 28,318 megawatts on May 7, according to Bloomberg鈥檚 weather model. That would beat a peak from last May of 27,796 megawatts,鈥� according to Morison.
Thanks to intense wind and sunshine, Germany's renewable power production briefly exceeded the entire country's electricity demand for the second time ever on 1 May, a bank holiday when power demand was low.
Read the article in English .
For background, read the factsheet Germany鈥檚 renewable generation peaks remain shrouded in data fog. 聽聽聽聽
Handelsblatt
The new EU fleet emission limits taking effect in 2020 mean that some carmakers will in effect save more than 10,000 euros per electric car sold due to avoided penalty payments, argues car industry expert Ferdinand Dudenh枚ffer in a commentary for business daily Handelsblatt. 鈥淎fter the fall of diesel cars, these limits are only achievable by selling a considerable number of electric cars,鈥� writes Dudenh枚ffer. A carmaker selling 100,000 vehicles with average emissions of 130 g CO2 would have to pay an annual penalty of about 330 million euros because the new EU limit is 95 g. The carmaker would avoid the penalty altogether if it manages to sell about 27,000 electric cars 鈥� translating into a saving of 12,350 euros per electric vehicle. 鈥淭he unloved child turns into a cash cow. The EU regulations trigger a surprising price and value mechanism,鈥� writes Dudenh枚ffer.
Read the commentary in German (behind paywall) .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier BMW, Daimler, and VW vow to fight in green transport revolution.
Tagesspiegel Background
Producing gas using renewable power is crucial for the success of Germany鈥檚 energy transition if the country decides to pursue ambitious climate targets, according to a meta-analysis by energy management consultancy enervis commissioned by Leipzig natural gas trader VNG, reports Felix Wadewitz in Tagesspiegel Background. If Germany decides to lower CO2 emissions by 80 percent by 2050, the lower end of its climate target range of cutting CO2 output by 80 to 95 percent, power-to-gas technology will barely play a role. In contrast, a more ambitious aim of a 90 percent emission cut will hardly be possible without the technology, reports Tagesspiegel. Ambitious climate policy would require a roll-out of power-to-gas infrastructure as early as the 2020s, meaning Germany must specify its 2050 climate targets soon, writes Wadewitz.
Find plenty of background in the new factsheet Sector coupling - Shaping an integrated renewable energy system
Handelsblatt
The German government will have to decide in the coming days who will participate in the country鈥檚 coal exit commission because Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 cabinet is due to approve the composition on 16 May, report Silke Kersting and Klaus Stratmann in Handelsblatt. The four major German coal states recently demanded a 鈥渟tronger voice鈥� in the 鈥渟pecial commission on growth, structural economic change and employment鈥�, which is supposed to find an end date for coal power in Germany in 2018 and define ways to manage the structural change.
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Die Zeit
The vastly improved diesel technology by leading car supplier Bosch deserves a chance because NOx emissions stay well below the strict 2020 EU emission rules and diesel engines emit less CO2 than petrol engines, writes Dietmar Lamparter in a commentary in weekly Die Zeit. 鈥淎 rehabilitated diesel could buy time for carmakers like BMW, Daimler and Audi, as well as their suppliers, like Bosch or Continental, as a transition technology for the next ten or twenty years,鈥� writes Lamparter. 鈥淯ntil then, investments in alternative engines worth billions could pay off because all of them know that these will replace combustion engines in the long run.鈥�
Read the commentary in German . 聽
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier BMW, Daimler, and VW vow to fight in green transport revolution.
Greentech Media / manager magazine
Mercedes-Benz will stop production of residential batteries, ending a short-lived challenge to storage systems made by Tesla, start-up Sonnen and others, reports Julian Spector for Greentech Media. Little over two years after the launch, Mercedes-Benz exited because its batteries, stress-tested for the work of propelling vehicles through the streets, proved too expensive to compete for the sedentary role of sitting in someone's house, Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Madeleine Herdlitschka told the author. "It鈥檚 not necessary to have a car battery at home: They don鈥檛 move, they don鈥檛 freeze," she said. "It's overdesigned." The company plans to continue its large-scale storage operations by repurposing used car batteries, according to the article.
Read the article in English .
Find an article in German in manager magazine .
Find plenty of background in the factsheet Reluctant Daimler plans 鈥渞adical鈥� push into new mobility world.
