威力彩玩法

S眉ddeutsche Zeitung

鈥淔rom nuclear proponent to power line opponent鈥�

In 2008 Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer said that extending the run-time of Germany鈥檚 nuclear power stations was "indispensable" and in July 2014 he announced that the 鈥渇ree state of Bavaria does not want power lines鈥�, Frank M眉ller writes in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Since Seehofer changed his mind on nuclear power, he will likely change it on the grid expansion, M眉ller says. If Bavaria鈥檚 energy minister announces this week that the supply gap caused by shutting down the states鈥� nuclear plants cannot be filled by boosting local gas-fired power plants and Bavaria therefore needs new grid connections to the North, Seehofer has announced that he will seek personal interviews with federal economy minister Sigmar Gabriel and Chancellor Angela Merkel to ensure听 Bavaria gets it all: the nuclear phase-out, a viable gas-power industry and a halt to plans for unwanted power lines and wind turbines.

See the 威力彩玩法 dossier 鈥淭he energy transition and Germany鈥檚 power grid鈥� here.

听

Nordbayerische Nachrichten

鈥淭housands protest against the power line鈥�

Citizens of the Bavarian town of Pegnitz near N眉rnberg staged a demonstration against planned direct current power lines, attracting around 2,000 people who listened to several speakers explain why Bavaria doesn't need grid extensions to bring power from the northern and eastern Germany to the southern state. A member of the citizens鈥� initiative at Pegnitz said the alliance had already attracted 300,000 supporters.

See the article in German .

听

Wirtschafts Woche / dpa

鈥淒o not overestimate falling CO2 emissions in Germany鈥�

Christian Growitsch, director of Hamburg's Weltwirtschaftsinstitut (HWWI) said it would be 鈥渄ubious鈥� to rate the falling CO2 emissions from Germany as a success of environmental policy. The decrease in emissions was largely due to mild winter temperatures and partially a result of gowing power production from renewables. But in the end, every tonne CO2 that Germany saved would be emitted by another European country, thanks to the European emissions trading scheme, Growitsch told the press agency dpa. Growitsch added that Germany鈥檚 emission reductions were meaningless set against increased pollution from China, which alone produces more CO2 than the EU and US combined.

Read the article in German .

Read a 威力彩玩法 story on the drop in CO2 emissions here.

听

Handelsblatt

鈥淧ower prices slow down German computing centres鈥�

Germany hosts a quarter of Europe鈥檚 server capacity but the market is growing faster elsewhere 鈥� comparatively high power costs in Germany are to blame, writes Malte Laub in the Handelsblatt.

Read the article in German . 听

听

Weser Kurier

"WeserWind insolvent"

Bremen-based renewable business WeserWind Offshore Construction has filed for bankruptcy, the Weser Kurier reported. Between 2011 and 2012 WeserWind employed up to 1,200 workers, but after playing a key role in the first phase of development of the offshore wind sector, the company (which mainly produces heavy steal construction) did not succeed in keeping business stable, the company's management said in a statement. The economy minister for the city state of Bremen Martin G眉nther said WeserWind鈥檚 insolvency should not be interpreted as sign of the future of the offshore wind power sector.

See the article in German .

听

Rheinische Post

鈥淓.ON goes to court over ending the prospects of Gorleben becoming a nuclear waste store鈥�

With the German parliament closing a preliminary nuclear waste storage site in former salt mines at听Gorleben, Lower Saxony, the search for final storage is on, says the Rheinische Post. But utility and nuclear power station operator听E.ON is challenging the Gorleben closure, in a move the newspaper says is aimed at avoiding paying for that search. E.ON called the decision to close Gorleben 鈥減olitically motivated only鈥�.

听

Windkraft-Journal / AEE

鈥淐heap fossil fuels threaten to put the breaks on energy transition in the heating sector鈥�

Low import prices for fossil fuels aren鈥檛 being passed on to consumers, according to an article in the Windkraft-Journal. The import price of gas fell by 13.8 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to the Federal Statistics Office, while the consumer price declined by just 0.1 percent. 鈥淗owever, the seemingly low current prices for fossil fuels risk putting efforts for the necessary energy transition of the heating sector in danger,鈥� the director of the German Renewable Energies Agency (AEE) warns. Gas covers most of German households鈥� heating needs, which account for the bulk of their energy consumption. In 2013, renewable sources of heat 鈥� wood, solar heat and heat pumps 鈥� covered less than 12 percent of heat generation in private homes, the article says.

See the AEE press release in German .

听

Frankfurter Rundschau

听鈥淒ark clouds over the solar sector鈥�

German solar firm SMA has been a world leader in the sector, but has been hit hard by cuts in renewable subsidies and competition from China and announced 1,300 German job cuts on 30 January, writes Frank-Thomas Wenzel for the Frankfurter Rundschau. Although managers in the solar sector ignored the international landscape of the industry, government policy has also played a role its decline, Wenzel says, with subsidies falling faster than costs.

See the article in German .

听

ClimateWire

鈥淐an a country slash its CO2 emissions and avoid electricity price spikes at the same time?鈥�

Writing for ClimateWire, Eric Marx says the transformation Germany鈥檚 electricity sector will be key to the success of the energy transition 鈥� either introducing capacity markets or tweaking the energy-only market to allow for price spikes at times of scarcity. While energy and economics minister Sigmar Gabriel appears to have ruled out the former, Marx says E.ON boss Johannes Teyssen may be right when he says that some form of capacity mechanism is inevitable - but it should support flexible and more efficient fossil fuel plants, such as combined heat and power, Marx writes.

See the article in English .

See 威力彩玩法鈥檚 Factsheet on the future design of the German power market here.

听

Bloomberg

鈥淲ant to Buy a Used German Power Plant? Shipping Is Included鈥�

Germany鈥檚 biggest utilities, E.ON and RWE, are keen to sell their old power plants, writes Tino Andresen for Bloomberg. Rendered unprofitable by the German energy transition, fossil fuel-burning plants could be packed up and shipped to buyers abroad, particularly in the developing world. RWE has more than six gas-fired plants mothballed in Germany and the Netherlands, the article says.

See the article in English .

See 威力彩玩法鈥檚 Factsheet on the German utilities and the Energiewende here.

听

BusinessGreen

鈥淕ermany to overtake UK in offshore wind race this year鈥�

Germany looks set to be the world鈥檚 biggest installer of wind power in 2015, Jessica Shankleman writes. Europe鈥檚 wind energy capacity will increase to 10.9 gigawatts (GW) when projects currently under construction are completed, according to a report by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) published on 30 January. Germany has the largest share of the additional 2.9 GW, the article says. 听

See the article in English .

See the EWEA report in English .