In the media: Battery fever; "trouble near the mine"
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淪imply carry on鈥�
G7 politicians want to rid the world of fossil fuels but German industry will demand support for the decarbonisation, Karl-Heinz B眉schemann writes in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser said the G7 decision has changed the orientation of research and innovation for generations, B眉schemann writes. But Kaeser won't admit听that Siemens made a mistake when it recently withdrew from the solar power business, says B眉schemann. Another source at the German industry association BDI told the author that he didn鈥檛 believe the G7 agreement would have any affect on the likes of Russia and the US, who will not forego using their fossil fuel resources. 鈥淭here will be no global Energiewende,鈥� B眉schemann quotes. Meanwhile, even utility RWE and the German car industry officially applaud the decarbonisation target, writes B眉schemann 鈥� though the latter does little to further this cause.
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Manager Magazin
鈥淭he business of power suppliers is in great danger鈥�
Despite reduced state support, solar power will see rapid growth in Europe, Torsten Henzelmann, partner at consultancy Roland Berger told the Manager Magazin in an interview. As the technology becomes cheaper, its share in the power market will quadruple over next 15 years, to at least 12 percent in Europe, Henzelmann said. This trend will make life difficult for traditional energy suppliers since their profitable relationships with small and medium sized businesses are in danger.
Read the interview in German .
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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淭rouble near the mine鈥�
The IG BCE鈥檚 (trade union for energy, mining and chemical industry) latest campaign 鈥渃oincidentally鈥� comes in the midst of the fierce debate over the future of coal in Germany, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. The trade union asks 鈥淲ill the Energiewende be a success,鈥� and answers 鈥淵es, if鈥� power remains affordable for everyone鈥� and 鈥溾�o good jobs are lost鈥�. The fight over a coal levy to limit emissions from old lignite plants has been going on for three months, writes Bauchm眉ller.听
See the article in German and the IG BCE's campaign website .
See a 威力彩玩法 blow-by-blow account about the climate levy debate and the latest comments from IG BCE chairman Michael Vassiliadis here.
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Die Tageszeitung 鈥� taz
鈥淐limate chancellor? Of course!鈥�
Chancellor Merkel is allowing energy minister Gabriel鈥檚 climate levy go to down the drain but that doesn鈥檛 mean she isn鈥檛 the 鈥渃limate chancellor,鈥� writes Bernhard P枚tter in an op-ed for the taz. Merkel鈥檚 actions on the international stage are much more important for the global climate than her behaviour at home. Letting down Gabriel 鈥� a Social Democrat - and seeing him fall out with the trade unions that usually support his party is legitimate power politics in preparation for the next election, P枚tter says. What鈥檚 important is that Merkel stands by Germany鈥檚 emission reduction target. Lignite mining and burning is on its way out anyway, says P枚tter, but how Germany treats the losers of the energy transformation is important because it sends as much of a signal to the world as the Energiewende itself.
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
鈥淪olar sector has the battery fever鈥�
The solar industry is emerging from a crisis with new business models for the future, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The global market for photovoltaics is booming, particularly in Asia and the United States, which is good news also for German companies who still have an advantage when it comes to innovation, research and development, the article says. The Intersolar trade fair in Munich showed that many companies were pinning their hopes on solar storage, among them Solarwatt from Dresden, who presented their battery 鈥淢yReserve鈥� with an overall efficiency of 93 percent. The home battery is designed to rival a similar device by American manufacturer Tesla, the article says.
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German Wind Energy Association (BWE)
鈥淓nBW new member of German Wind Energy Association鈥�
One of Germany鈥檚 four largest power utilities, EnBW has joined the German Wind Energy Association. 鈥淲e can see that with its strategy and investments in renewable technologies, EnBW is positioning itself strongly for the Energiewende,鈥� a BWE press release says. EnBW (which in 2013 generated most of its power in hard coal and nuclear plants) was following a strategy for 2020 that puts emphasise on the development of offshore wind power, an EnBW representative says in the press release.
Read the BWE press release in German .
See a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on German utilities here.
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