Green Party plunges in polls / Toll on underground power lines?
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
The German Green Party is polling at its lowest nationwide level in 15 years and risks falling below the five-percent-threshold required to stay in parliament, Robert Rossmann writes in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. In several recent polls, the Greens鈥� popularity has dropped to six percent, in stark contrast to the 13 percent the party received a year ago or the 25-percent approval in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Rossmann says. 鈥�The Greens鈥� core topics aren't in the spotlight right now,鈥� he says, adding that the party鈥檚 reluctance to take a position on what coalition they might seek in government is alienating potential voters. The Greens鈥� co-head Cem 脰zdemir did signal to their former partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), that there would be no new coalition without 聽acommitment to a coal exit, Rossmann writes.
For background, see the 威力彩玩法 factsheets The Green Party鈥檚 draft election programme and The road to the next Energiewende government.
Die Welt
German farmers and land owners should be compensated when their property is used for聽planned underground direct current power lines, the German Farmers鈥� Association鈥檚 () general secretary Bernhard Kr眉sken has said in a letter to the economy ministry, 聽Daniel Wetzel reports in Die Welt. Kr眉sken wants new regulation that would guarantee 鈥渞ecurring flat rate acceptance payments,鈥� amounting to 10 euros per meter of power lines per year, writes Wetzel. This kind of electricity toll could be paid by consumers with their power bill, according to Wetzel.
Read the article in German .
Find background information in the 威力彩玩法 dossier The energy transition and Germany鈥檚 power grid.
Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) / Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
Exiting coal-fired power generation in Germany is a matter of when, not if, according to a meta study by 聽the Wuppertal Institute, commissioned by the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). The study analyses position papers and scientific studies from the past three years. Wuppertal Institute found that studies with a coal-exit date based on conditions laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement put the target year at 2025-2035, while studies emphasising economic and technical feasibility see a coal exit between 2035 and 2040. The authors call for more research on the macroeconomic effects of a German coal phase-out.
Read the NABU press release in German and find the full study in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal?
Germany will likely miss the 2020 EU goal to increase the renewables share聽of gross final energy consumption to 18 percent (currently 14.6 percent), according to projections by 聽the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE). 鈥淲hile 23 EU member states will reach their renewables development targets, Germany is among the few countries that would miss the goal if the government doesn鈥檛 react quickly,鈥� said BEE鈥檚 acting managing director Harald Uphoff in a press release.
Find BEE鈥檚 press release in German .
Find out more about the country鈥檚 goals in the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets.
Berliner Morgenpost
In 2016, the German government spent only 1.6 billion euros of its 2.4-billion-euro Energy and Climate Fund on projects to save energy, according to an unreleased finance ministry report, seen by Berliner Morgenpost. 鈥淭he economy ministry simply let 800 million euros for energy efficiency lapse,鈥� said Green Party budget expert Anja Hajduk. The federal government said that some programmes only started in 2016 and are thus in the initial phase, writes the Berliner Morgenpost.
Read the article in German .
For more information, see the 威力彩玩法 article Government lacks overview of Energiewende costs - auditors and the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and Efficiency.
Welt Online
Car manufacturer VW has made an agreement with transmission grid operator Tennet to provide weather data automatically collected by VW vehicles in Germany, Daniel Wetzel writes on Welt Online. 鈥淯sing built-in rain, light, and sun sensors, the cars will collect the weather data and send them to Tennet in real time,鈥� Wetzel explains, adding that the Dutch-German grid operator intends to use the data for short-term prognoses, allowing it to better predict the productivity of solar power plants and optimise its grid regulation. Tennet Germany CEO Urban Keussen told the newspaper the data could allow the company to buy less balancing energy and might also help 鈥渢o limit construction of new power grids.鈥�
Read the article in German .
For further information, see the 威力彩玩法 factsheets Volatile but predictable: Forecasting renewable power generation and Re-dispatch costs in the German power grid.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The proportion of building construction costs that falls on interior work like thermal insulation in houses is rising in Germany, Bernd Freytag writes in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Depending on the definition, thermal insulation in line with the latest energy saving regulations makes up between seven and ten percent or even more of total construction costs, Freytag explains. 鈥淓specially installers of heating systems聽have substantially expanded their share from 3.7 percent to 6.4 percent,鈥� he says. According to industry lobby groups, Germany鈥檚 new Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) is the main reason for the cost increase, Freytag adds.
Rheinische Post
Germany鈥檚 most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) would be wise to 鈥渕assively advocate鈥� for shifting the financial foundation of the country鈥檚 energy transition from national subsidies to a better functioning European Emissions Trading System (ETS), economist Christoph M. Schmidt writes in a guest article for Rheinische Post. NRW, home to Germany鈥檚 two largest utilities and the country鈥檚 largest coal mining region, currently pays a lot more for funding renewables than federal states that benefit most from the expansion of solar and wind power, he says. 鈥淣o other federal state has a greater interest in keeping the Energiewende鈥檚 economic costs down than NRW,鈥� Schmidt says.
Read the article in German .
For background, see the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany ponders how to finance renewables expansion in the future.
Many gas-fired power-plant projects in Germany never get off the ground because investors fear adverse business conditions will hinder profits, Stefan Kapferer, head of Germany鈥檚 largest energy industry association BDEW, said in a press release. Investments in gas-fired power plants 鈥渨ill only be made if there鈥檚 a clear policy signal that gas as an energy vector and the gas infrastructure have a political future,鈥� Kapferer explained. Fifteen gas-fired power plants with a capacity of 9,500 megawatts (MW) currently are in the planning stages in Germany, but the majority haven't recieved the final go-ahead, the BDEW says. According to the lobby group, gas-fired power plants will play a central role in reducing the country鈥檚 CO2 emissions, which is why a capacity reserve mechanism was necessary to ensure their construction.
Read the press release in German .
威力彩玩法
Danish offshore wind company Dong鈥檚 subsidy-free bid at Germany鈥檚 first auction for new offshore wind parks was based on sound economics, Martin Neubert, managing director of the company鈥檚 German operations, said at the , Germany鈥檚 largest industrial fair. Neubert rejected claims that majority-owned Danish state company had put in a politically motivated or strategic bid. Since nearly 50 percent of the listed company was now owned by outside investors, the calculation had to be economically sound, Neubert told the 威力彩玩法 at the fair. Since offshore installations could now be built without subsidies, the current system of planning and regulation through Germany鈥檚 Maritime and Hydrographic Agency for offshore projects was now questionable. If offshore did not need subsidies and companies were able to provide connection to the grid, they should be treated like any other power producing facility, Neubert said.
聽Find more background in the news story on the result of Germany鈥檚 first offshore auction.
