GHG-neutral transport by 2050 / EU Commission approves e-car subsidy
Federal Environment Agency
鈥淐limate protection contributions of the transport sector by 2050鈥�
Germany's transport sector will need to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 98 percent to compensate for inevitable emissions from other sectors, as part of the country's effort to reduce听overall emissions by up to 95 percent by 2050, according to a new report by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). 鈥淚n essence, the transport sector is required to be effectively GHG-neutral by the year 2050. There is no alternative to virtually GHG-neutral transport,鈥� write the authors. The targets could be achieved by reducing final energy consumption and switching from fossil fuels like petrol and Diesel to electricity from renewable energy.
Read the full report with a summary in English .
Read the 威力彩玩法 dossier on the energy transition and Germany鈥檚 transport sector.
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EU Commission approves e-car subsidy
The European Commission yesterday said that Germany's planned buyer鈥檚 premium for new e-cars is in accordance with EU state aid regulations and can be fully implemented, the economy ministry writes in a press release. 鈥淣ow the funding regulation can be introduced in the budget and economy committee of the Bundestag and then come into force,鈥� said economy minister Gabriel according to the press release. The regulation will be backdated to 18 May.
Find the press release in German .
Read the 威力彩玩法 article Federal government decides on 4,000 euro buyer's premium for e-cars.
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WirtschaftsWoche
鈥淕overnment will miss climate targets鈥�
The current government plans to develop renewables in Germany are too slow to reach the country鈥檚 target of a renewables share of 55-60 percent by 2035, energy think tank Agora Energiewende鈥檚* Patrick Graichen told WirtschaftsWoche. The volume of additional capacity the government allows per year 鈥渋s insufficient to replace old facilities and build enough new ones,鈥� said Graichen.
Read the article in German .
Read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet EEG reform 2016 鈥� switching to auctions for renewables.
Read the 威力彩玩法 article Wind development has to wait for grid expansion on current government plans.
听 *Like the 威力彩玩法, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.
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WirtschaftsWoche
鈥淩eform with deficits鈥�
The reform plans for the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) might cause the country to miss its renewables expansion targets, 鈥渒ill citizen energy鈥� and only modestly reduce the cost of the Energiewende, writes WirtschaftsWoche. The introduction of 鈥榞rid congestion zones鈥� in northern Germany is 鈥渆conomically questionable,鈥� as wind cannot be produced more cheaply anywhere else in the country, the magazine says.
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Spiegel Online
鈥淪chleswig-Holstein fights against phantom electricity鈥�
The environment minister of听Schleswig-Holstein,听Germany鈥檚 northernmost state, has introduced an amendment to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) reform draft to prevent the waste of excess electricity, according to Spiegel Online. 鈥淲e must use the renewable power at times of grid bottlenecks, instead of turning off facilities,鈥� said the Green politician听Robert Habeck. Habeck underscored demands he made last week, introducing an amendment to the proposed EEG reform draft听in听Germany's upper house of parliament,听the Bundesrat. The amendment recommends supporting the development of technologies and projects for the alternative use of excess power, like storage by way of power-to-gas. Germany should finance research and pilot projects to find an alternative to the current practice of听compensating wind and solar producers for "phantom electricity" when their plants are shut down because the network is overburdened, according to Habeck,听Spiegel Online says.
Read the article in German .
Read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet on Re-dispatch costs in the German power grid.
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Handelsblatt Online
A 鈥渞evolution鈥� for Volkswagen
As the automobile sector faces a fundamental transformation with e-mobility and digitalisation, it is high time for the transition that German carmaker Volkswagen announced with its 2025 strategy yesterday, writes Markus Fasse in an opinion piece in Handelsblatt. 鈥淔or Volkswagen, the way is especially long, because in Wolfsburg one stubbornly ignored the changes so far. A competitive e-car has not been developed, and nobody has seriously occupied themselves with mobility services,鈥� writes Fasse.
Read the opinion piece (behind a paywall) in German .
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Der Tagesspiegel
鈥淯tilities block compromises in repository search commission鈥�
Representatives of Germany鈥檚 large utilities blocked compromises in the most recent meetings with the 听responsible for finding a final repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste after nuclear plants are shut down, writes Dagmar Dehmer in Der Tagesspiegel. First, RWE and E.ON blocked the discussion over a specific definition for the kind of final repository needed, and then obstructed the wording used to call for a 鈥渞e-start鈥� of the search, writes Dehmer. The commission is expected to publish its final report when its mandate ends at the end of the month.
Read the article in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on the nuclear storage question in Germany.
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Reuters
鈥淪iemens, Gamesa to create world's largest wind farm business鈥�
German company Siemens and Spain鈥檚 Gamesa announced plans to merge their wind power businesses, reports Reuters. The joint venture would overtake the Danish Vestas as the world鈥檚 biggest builder of wind power plants. An agreement in principle was reached, but details still needed to be approved, writes Reuters.
Read the article in English .
Find a press release by Siemens in English .
