威力彩玩法

German Insurance Association ()

Insurers keen to increase investments in renewable energy

German insurers want to pour more money into renewables to profit from the reliable income streams they generate. "Around 13 percent of today鈥檚 installed capacity from renewable electricity sources were financed by institutional investors," the German Insurance Association听says in a position paper. "A quarter of all asset managers based in Germany have added renewables or electricity grids to their portfolios. Insurers have already invested billions of euros in infrastructure projects in a broader sense and have a great interest to extend their engagement." The association applauds the government鈥檚 green paper with proposals for pending reform of the power market. 鈥淭he government wants to contribute to a credible legal framework that investors can trust,鈥� the GDV paper says. Low interest rates are forcing insurers to look for new long-term investment opportunities largely independent of financial markets, writes the association. Renewables are particularly well suited for this because they have long life expectancies and offer stable and projectable capital flows and returns, thanks to feed-in tariffs.

Read the GDV鈥檚 statement in German .

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

German industry calls Bavaria鈥檚 resistance to power lines 鈥渋rresponsible鈥�

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) has sharply criticised Bavaria鈥檚 resistance to new electricity superhighways to transport wind power from the north to the energy-hungry south of the country. 鈥淭he CSU鈥檚 (Bavaria鈥檚 conservative party鈥檚) behaviour is irresponsible. Supply security is one of the most precious goods, and for this security we need grids. No federal state can go it alone and be self-sufficient,鈥� association head Ulrich Grillo told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Asked to name the most urgent tasks for Germany, he answered: 鈥淲e have to implement the Energiewende more persistently. If this was a 100 metre race, we鈥檝e only managed 10 metres.鈥� Grillo also said he regretted the set-back for planned subsidies for home insulation: 鈥淏uilding efficiency offers by far the largest potential for energy savings.鈥�

See 威力彩玩法's Dossier on grid expansion here.听

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dpa-AFX

鈥淢erkel promotes nuclear phase-out in Japan鈥�

During her state visit to Japan, Chancellor Angela Merkel is promoting Germany鈥檚 transition to a low-carbon economy and nuclear phase-out, according to a report by dpa-AFX. 鈥淭he most unlikely risks can become reality,鈥� Merkel said in Tokyo, referring to the meltdown in Fukushima almost exactly four years ago, according to the report. 鈥淔or me, Fukushima was a decisive event, because it happened in a country with very high technical quality,鈥� Merkel said during a discussion with students and university professors. She also said that increasing efficiency, for example with building insulation, should be an听important goal of energy policy. 鈥淲e can learn a lot from each other,鈥� Merkel said, adding that she had faced criticism for holding on to nuclear energy for too long.

See 威力彩玩法's Factsheet on the nuclear phase-out here.听

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ARD Tagesschau.de/S眉ddeutsche Zeitung

鈥淧ower plant Irsching should stay online鈥�

Both the federal government in Berlin and the Bavarian state administration want to prevent the mothballing of Irsching, a听large and modern gas power station near Ingolstadt in Bavaria, tagesschau.de reports. After operator E.ON announced it would apply for the closure of the plant, Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) would check whether the plant was essential to the stability of the power system, and that if this was the case, the mothballing would not be permitted. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) says it is unlikely the Bavarian gas plant would be shut down, since Bavaria will need Irsching to maintain supply security following the听closure of the nuclear power sation in Grafenrheinfeld in May. Bavaria鈥檚 state premier Horst Seehofer said it would be a 鈥渂ad joke鈥� if one of Europe's most efficient gas power stations risks closure while old coal fired power stations continue to operate.

See the ARD article in German and a related article explaining the Bavarian position in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung .

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World Energy Focus/Energy Post

鈥淚nterview Johannes Teyssen, CEO E.ON: 鈥楩uture energy world has drifted far apart from the classical one鈥欌��

In an interview with World Energy Focus, reproduced in part by Energy Post, E.ON head Johannes Teyssen explains the utility's decision to split into two separate companies. Teyssen told World Energy Focus that different approaches are needed in conventional power generation 鈥� which must provide supply security 鈥� and 鈥渢he energy world of the future鈥� which will be driven by technological developments including e-mobility and big data.

See the interview in English on Energy Post听.

See 威力彩玩法鈥檚 Dossier on the German utilities听here.听

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World Energy Council

鈥淕erman energy policy 鈥� a blueprint for the world?鈥�

The World Energy Council (WEC) survey 鈥淕erman energy policy 鈥� a blueprint for the world?鈥�, which questioned 35 WEC chairmen in 20 countries and featured in 威力彩玩法's听News Digest on 20 February, is now available in English .