In the media: Looming battle over coal
Handelsblatt / Die Welt
鈥淔ederal government disappoints power station operators鈥�
Operators of fossil-fuelled power stations should only receive very limited funds for keeping power capacities on stand-by, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) has suggested in a policy paper, the Handelsblatt reports. Instead of introducing a capacity market 鈥� which utilities would have preferred 鈥� the ministry wants to secure supply by reforming the existing energy only market (EOM), the article says. The EOM would work if investors could rely on politicians to never intervene in price formation on the wholesale electricity market 鈥� something the government could guarantee in the energy economy law, according to the ministry proposal. Keeping the possibility of a capacity market open for a later point in time would not be "compatible" with an EOM, the newspaper Die Welt quotes the paper as saying. The government is only planning an emergency capacity reserve, the newspaper writes.
See the Handelsblatt article in German and Die Welt article in German .
See a 威力彩玩法 article on the government plans for coal power in Germany here.
See the leaked government paper in German .
听
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
"Into battle!"
Energy minister Sigmar Gabriel鈥檚 new proposals to curb emissions point in the right direction, as coal-fired power plants have continued to produce carbon emissions almost unabatedly despite the Energiewende, Michael Bauchm眉ller writes in an opinion piece for the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Correctly implemented, the plans听could rectify this, he says.听Gabriel's proposals, geared for听parliamentary vote by summer,听set specific caps for power plants and make old coal plants uneconomical. However, utilities, the lignite-producing federal states governed by the SPD and dismayed CDU politicians remain a stumbling block for the plans, he said. "If Gabriel is serious with the beginning of the exit, he can expect a big battle," Bauchm眉ller writes.听
The paper also has a front-page article about the plans with the headline: "Gabriel ushers in the exit from coal power鈥�.
Read the article .
