In the media: Power lines, offshore wind and energy law reform
Spiegel Online
听鈥淐ontroversial power lines: Network operators want to considerably lengthen transmission routes鈥�
Germany鈥檚 four big electricity network operators want to expand new transmission lines that will link Saxony-Anhalt in the north and Bavaria in the south by 180 to 200 kilometers beyond the originally planned route in both directions, Spiegel Online reports, citing 鈥渘etwork operator sources.鈥� The extension is mentioned in a summary of the operators鈥� new network development plan, obtained by Spiegel Online and dpa news agency, which is expected for release Tuesday. Hoping to avert criticism that the new transmission lines will transport lignite-produced electricity from eastern Germany, operators contend in their report that the expansion serves as a 鈥渄irect connection鈥� to Saxony-Anhalt鈥檚 鈥渨indpower basin,鈥� Spiegel says. The story was reported broadly in German media.
Read the Spiegel article in German .
Read the dpa article in the FAZ in German .
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Dow Jones Newswires
鈥�'Don鈥檛 touch our coal'/Mining, chemical and energy union demands changes to energy policy鈥�
The mining, chemicals and energy union, IG BCE, held a rally protesting the short-term closure of coal-fired power plants, demanding that Germany鈥檚 transition to clean power neither endanger jobs nor hoist prices, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Around 120 workers near Leipzig took part on Monday, and another demonstration with around 1,000 workers in Saxony-Anhalt is planned Tuesday. Germany is currently engaged in a debate over how to secure its power supply when preferred renewable sources like wind and sun are unavailable. Operators argue it is too expensive to keep fossil fuel-fired plants running just to fill the gaps.
See the IG-BCE press release .
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Dow Jones Newswires
Industrial power association welcomes Economics Ministry power reform ideas
Germany鈥檚 industrial power association VIK welcomed the Economics Ministry鈥檚 ideas for reforming the power market, laid out last week in a so-called green paper, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The paper was a good basis for adapting the market to the increasing amount of power from fluctuating wind and sun sources and the decreasing share from thermal power plants, but it is important to consider the competitiveness of industrial customers and the ability of households to pay for this change, the VIK said.
See the press release from the VIK .
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Handelsblatt/dpa
鈥淕erman wind industry lacks test sites鈥�
A report by dpa news agency in the Handelsblatt says the German wind power sector lacks suitable sites to test prototype installations. The article says this puts the young industry in hardship as much needs to be done to make offshore wind competitive. Currently, power from offshore turbines is around three times the cost of onshore wind power. The article says that while regional governments of north German states are in favour of the sector鈥檚 development in principal, they are failing to make suitable open-sea sites available.
See the article in German .
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Scientific American/ClimateWire
鈥淗ow East Germany cleaned up dirty power鈥�
A feature by ClimateWire published in Scientific American looks at how the East German experience of transforming its energy supply offers insight into the country鈥檚 wider energy transition. The article describes how after German reunification, safety fears saw the former East鈥檚 Soviet-designed nuclear reactors taken offline, while declining industry and population lowered the demand for power, frequently rendering large fossil fuel-burning plants unprofitable. This created ideal conditions for green power sources, which got a boost from renewable energy legislation introduced in 2000, and allowed communities to generate their own power. Although the federal states of the former East still mine and burn large amounts of carbon-heavy lignite, they saw more than 40 per cent of their power consumption covered by renewables in the first half of this year 鈥� considerably higher than the national share of 28.5 per cent over the same period.
See the article in English .
