In the media: No spectators at G7 energy show; EnBW in the red
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung / Die Welt
鈥淓nergiewende show on the high seas鈥�
Germany鈥檚 energy minister Sigmar Gabriel invited his G7 counterparts to visit a new offshore wind converter platform in the North Sea 鈥� but none of them wanted to join him, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung.
The visit was part of the G7 energy ministers meeting in Hamburg where Gabriel said in his opening remarks that the challenge was to find an energy supply "that鈥檚 good for the environment but at the same time doesn鈥檛 endanger growth and prosperity," Daniel Wetzel writes in Die Welt. But other G7 countries view Germany鈥檚 plan to have a 鈥済reen electricity supply鈥� critically, Wetzel writes. Great Britain plans billions of pounds in subsidies for a nuclear power station and the US is focusing on fracking gas. 鈥淲ithout renewable energies there will be no energy security,鈥� Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on the offshore platform, hinting at another big topic at the energy ministers meeting - Russian gas supply.
Read the Die Welt article in German .
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Bloomberg/Reuters
鈥淓nBW reports 2014 net loss after writedowns on power plants鈥�
The slump in wholesale power prices forced Germany's third-largest utility EnBW to write down the value of its power plants, pushing the company into the red last year, Bloomberg reports. EnBW鈥檚 net loss of 451 million euros compared with net income of 51 million euros in 2013, the Karlsruhe-based company said in its annual report. EnBW, which had relied on nuclear reactors for more than half of its output, lost two of its four plants in a first wave of shutdowns as Germany shifts to using more renewable energy, according to Bloomberg. The company wrote down 910 million euros on its plants as wind and solar power increased to 26 percent of national generation, curbing electricity prices already weakened by recession in European economies. EnBW supplies about 5.5 million customers with energy and wants to more than double the share of renewables in its generation portfolio to 40 percent by the end of the decade, according to a Reuters report.
Read the Bloomberg story in English .
Find the Reuters report in English .
Read a 威力彩玩法 article on the utilities鈥� dire straits here.
Find the 威力彩玩法 dossier on the utilities鈥� fight for survival here. 听听
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Reuters
鈥淓nBW bids for insolvent wind farm group Prokon 鈥� sources鈥�
EnBW wants to buy insolvent operator Prokon鈥檚 wind farms, Reuters reports. An insider told the news agency EnBW鈥檚 offer valued Prokon at more than 500 million euros. German wind and solar power farm operator Capital Stage already made a binding offer for most of Prokon last week. Prokon operates 529 megawatts of wind-powered generating capacity in Germany and Poland, according to the report. The company filed for insolvency last year after consumer groups accused it of attracting investors with the prospect of high returns without giving sufficient warning of the risks. An acquisition of Prokon would help EnBW diversify its business away from loss-making coal and gas-fired plants.
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Read a 威力彩玩法 article about the transformation of Germany鈥檚 鈥淏ig Four鈥� utilities here.
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German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW)
鈥淎lmost 1.5 million projects produce green electricity鈥�
1.48 million renewable energy projects generated electricity in Germany in 2013, according to utility association BDEW. Of those, about 1.4 million were solar arrays, 23,024 were听onshore听wind turbines and 13,589 were biomass projects. Association head Hildegard M眉ller said the continued rise of renewables meant their integration into the power market and the energy system must have high priority.
Find the BDEW press release in German .
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Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung (FAZ)
鈥淓missions trading needs protection from politicians鈥�
The European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) doesn鈥檛 need reform, writes Hendrick Kafsack in an opinion piece for the FAZ. Because the ETS caps the total amount of emissions that can be produced under the scheme, it guarantees a reduction in greenhouse gases, even if the price for emissions allowances is very low, Kafsack argues. The economic crisis has resulted in an oversupply of allowances and it has made it easier for the EU to achieve its climate targets but that is no reason to punish companies by making arbitrary changes to the ETS market. Instead politicians should do something else to stabilise the trading scheme 鈥� they should stop single member states from interfering.
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Deutsche Welle
鈥淧ondering Germany鈥檚 'Energiewende'鈥�
鈥�15 years ago, German politicians agreed to wean the country off fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The shift has been expensive and mistakes were made, but it has put Germany on a path to a cleaner, greener economy,鈥� writes Naomi Conrad for Deutsche Welle.
Read the article in English .
