Germany's renewables prospects / E.ON's "historic loss"
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Renewable Energy Prospects: Germany
A new IRENA report 鈥淩enewable Energy Prospects Germany鈥� examines the country鈥檚 energy transition in the last decades, identifying best practice policies and technology experiences. It also shows how two-thirds of Germany鈥檚 power generation could come from renewables by 2030. If Germany wants to reach its target of 30 percent renewable energy in total final energy consumption it will need a transition in other areas, particularly in the heating and transport sectors, the report finds. 鈥淭he power sector alone is not sufficient to transition the country鈥檚 energy system away from fossil fuels,鈥� it states.
Read the report in English .
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Handelsblatt/Reuters
鈥淗istoric loss鈥�
E.ON will report a record net loss of more than five billion euros on Wednesday, company insiders told business daily Handelsblatt and Reuters. The main culprit was write-downs totalling more than eight billion euros, mainly on conventional power generation, writes J眉rgen Flauger in Handelsblatt. The company declined to comment, referring to the official release of nine-month figures on Wednesday. According to the article, the write-downs stemmed mainly from difficulties in the wholesale power market, where renewables generation has pushed down prices. E.ON is about to spin off its conventional power generation into a new company, to be called Uniper, at year-end.
Find a Reuters report in English .听
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Federal Grid Agency
鈥淪ignificant increase of feed-in management measures鈥�
The Federal Grid Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has published its yearly overview on the development of renewable energies in Germany. For the first time, more than one percent of renewable power generation could not be fed into the grid in 2014, mainly because of grid bottlenecks, according to the report. The agency said the amount of power lost in this way was rising rapidly and illustrated the need for grid extensions. According to the report, renewable capacity supported by the renewable energy law amounted to 85 GW at the end of 2014, which increased to 89 GW during the first half of 2015.
Find the agency鈥檚 report in German .
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VIK association of industrial energy and power station businesses听
鈥淓nergy transition lacks political compass鈥�
The VIK association of industrial energy and power station businesses has criticised the political 鈥渮igzag course鈥� of the government on energy policy. VIK chairman Roland Mohr said that energy-intensive industry needed a clear and reliable energy policy framework and perspectives in the future. A global climate treaty was important to prevent a climate political solo by the EU and Germany which would endanger competitiveness and jobs.
Read the press release in German .
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Hessen
鈥淎l-Wazir: 鈥楨nergy transition is gaining speed, power consumption decreasing despite booming economy鈥�
The Hessian ministry for economic affairs and energy has published an energy monitoring report, detailing the status and effects of the energy transition in the state. Hesse鈥檚 final energy consumption fell by 10 percent in the past 15 years, as the amount of electricity needed for production and growth declined, it said. The share of renewables in power consumption has doubled since 2010, to 14.4 percent in 2014. Minister Tarek Al-Wazir said the results showed that the uncoupling of economic growth and resource consumption was possible.
Read/download the report in German .
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Institute of Renewable Energy Industry (IWR)
鈥淕rid operators plan 700 MW cable to Sweden鈥�
German grid operator 50Hertz and Swedish counterpart Svenska kraftn盲t have begun 听planning for a new large-capacity cable connecting the two countries鈥� power grids, reports the Institute of Renewbale Energy Industry. Following an earlier declaration of intent, the operators signed a cooperation agreement on the maximum voltage DC cable named 鈥淗ansa Powerbridge鈥�, which is to run through the Baltic Sea. Feasibility studies found the Swedish power market can benefit from excess North German wind power, while Germany could import Swedish hydropower at times of low wind. According to plans, the cable with a length of around 300 kilometres is to reach a capacity of 700 MW by 2025.
Read the IWR article release in German .
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Renewables International
鈥淕abriel ends solar storage 鈥榤补诲苍别蝉蝉鈥欌赌�
Craig Morris explains in a commentary in Renewables International why Germany鈥檚 economy and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel has scrapped support for solar storage systems in homes, why the solar industry is outraged and why grid-attached storage is favourable to residential power storage.
Read the article in English . Read another report by Renewables International 鈥淕ermany no longer hotspot for PV鈥� .
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Rheinische Post / WAZ
鈥淪teag builds giant battery at plant in Walsum鈥�
Utility Steag will invest 100 million euros in a lithium-ion battery in North Rhine-Westphalia that will store excess solar and wind power. The battery will have a capacity of 15 megawatts and could supply electricity to 50,000 households for one hour if needed.
Read the article in German .
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COP21 鈥� Road to Paris
International Energy Agency (IEA)
World Energy Outlook 2015
The IEA has published its World Energy Outlook 2015. In advance of the UN climate summit in Paris, 鈥渢here are clear signs that an energy transition is underway: renewables contributed almost half of the world's new power generation capacity in 2014 and have already become the second-largest source of electricity (after coal),鈥� the report finds. Global energy demand should grow by nearly one-third by 2040, the agency found. However, the link between economic growth and energy-related emissions should weaken.
Read an executive summary of the report in English .
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Bild Online
鈥�3.5 million Germans endangered by sea-level rise鈥�
If the temperature rises by 4掳 Celsius, 3.5 million people on Germany鈥檚 coasts would be endangered by rising sea levels; if the temperature increases by 2掳 Celsius, 1.3 million people would be at risk, Bild reports. China and coastal cities like New York, London and Mumbai would be even worse hit.
Read the article in German .
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Handelsblatt/Germanwatch
鈥淐limate change destroys prosperity鈥�
According to a study by NGO Germanwatch, the economic damages of climate change far outweigh the costs of ambitious policies to prevent it, reports the Handelsblatt. The study estimates economic gains from climate protection will add up to 16 trillion euros by 2050, writes Silke Kersting. This compares to IPCC calculations showing that ambitious climate protection would require investments of about five trillion euros. 鈥淎 less-ambitious climate policy destroys future prosperity,鈥� said Germanwatch policy director Christoph Bals.
Read the article in German in Handelsblatt .
Find the Germanwatch press release in German .
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