In the media: "Carmakers must not end up like RWE and E.ON"
Handelsblatt
鈥淐armakers must not end up like RWE and E.ON鈥�
In an interview with business daily Handelsblatt, transport expert Anton Hofreiter - one of the Green party鈥檚 parliamentary leaders - argues that German carmakers stare in shock at the challenge of electro mobility, instead of taking the lead in this technology. 鈥淚 worry a lot about Germany as a location for the car industry. VW, with its excellent engineers, could take a turn 鈥� but at the car show IAA, Toyota again was the most innovative. If the car companies don鈥檛 change their way of thinking, they might end up like RWE and E.ON,鈥� Hofreiter says. He argues that carmakers repeat the mistakes of the utilities and concentrate on optimising existing technologies instead of betting on real innovations.
Read the Interview in German听.
听
WAZ
鈥淲e must not allow end of RWE鈥�
Armin Laschet, deputy head of Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 CDU party, said the state has a partial responsibility for utility giant RWE, reports the WAZ. 鈥淚 believe society as a whole has the responsibility to work out how to overcome the burden created by many decades of reliable nuclear and lignite power supply, together with the company,鈥� Laschet told the paper. He said it was not a forward-looking policy to 鈥渢ake away RWE鈥檚 business model and destroy the whole company鈥�. He says it was a political decision to start and then exit nuclear power and the company cannot be left alone to deal with the consequences.
Read the interview in German听.
听
WFPL.org
鈥淕erman coal community pivots to renewable energy鈥�
Cities such as Gelsenkirchen and Essen 鈥� which used to be part of Germany鈥檚 main industrial and coal-mining areas听鈥� are considering how to reinvent themselves amid the Energiewende, writes Erica Peterson for WFPL.org. Gelsenkirchen is focusing on research and development of all renewable energy 鈥� having in the past tried to rebrand itself the 鈥淪olar City鈥�, Peterson writes. The initiative is being helped by Germany鈥檚 federal policies, which incentivise solar energy.
Read the report in English
听
Institute of Renewable Energy Industry (IWR)/Renewable Energy Research Association (FVEE)
鈥淓nergy researchers demand technology mix for heat transition鈥�
Energy researchers believe the transition to renewable heating systems requires a mixture of different technologies, reports the Institute of Renewable Energy Industry (IWR). This is why policy must not focus on single technologies, according to a position paper by the Renewable Energy Research Association (FVEE). Because heat accounts for 58 percent of Germany鈥檚 final energy demand - and only 11 percent of these are renewable - more decisive policy steps for the introduction of new technologies and efficiency measures are needed, said Gerhard Stryi-Hipp from Fraunhofer ISE, who heads the FVEE commission.
Read the IWR-article in German听.
Find the FVEE paper in German听.
Read a 威力彩玩法 dossier on the role of efficiency in the Energiewende听here.
听
Vox
鈥淲hat Germany learned from its war on coal鈥�
Germany offers a cautionary tale on why going green is not always as smooth a ride as thought, writes Annett Meiritz for Vox. The country鈥檚 Energiewende is spoken highly of as a model for tackling climate change but the difficulty in switching to renewables has received less attention, Meiritz writes. The coal industry has refused to disappear without a fight and continues to supply 43 percent of Germany鈥檚 electricity, with 25 percent coming from lignite, it is claimed. Germany is also in danger of missing its climate target of a 40 percent reduction below 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, Meiritz writes.
Read the article in English
