NRW to curb wind power/ Germany criticises US Russia sanction plans
The future government coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Free Democrats (FDP) in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) wants to slow down wind power expansion and keep energy generation from fossil fuels as 鈥渂ridging technologies for the foreseeable future鈥�, according to the new coalition agreement presented on 16 June. 鈥淲e want to reconcile ecology and economy鈥�, said CDU State Chairman Armin Laschet at a press conference. Christian Linder, state chairman of the FDP said that a hundred days before the federal elections, forming a CDU-FDP coalition had 鈥渟ignificance beyond the state鈥檚 borders". The two parties aim to 鈥渋nitiate a restart of energy policy from North Rhine-Westphalia鈥�, and develop an 鈥渆nergy supply strategy鈥� for the state. The agreement states that the coalition aims to "rid" the state's climate protection law off all regulations that go beyond goals and measures of the European Union. The new government will stand by existing plans for lignite mining in the state, and support 鈥渟tructural transition鈥� in the affected regions. Renewables expansion will not prefer any one technology, and there will be no 鈥減lanning economy expansion corridors鈥�. The coalition plans to prescribe a minimum distance of 1,500 metres between new wind turbines and residential areas. 鈥淓conomic growth is possible while preserving natural resources; and one can protect the environment without putting chains on economic power鈥�, said Lindner. The leaders will now present the agreement to their respective parties for approval.
Find the coalition agreement in German .
Find background in the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Facts on the German state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia,聽 and the article Coal exit: elephant in the room at vote in German industry heartland.
Federal Foreign Office / Financial Times / Reuters
A new draft US Senate bill that is meant to tighten economic sanctions on Russia could threaten Europe鈥檚 energy supply security, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern have said in a joint press release. 鈥淭he threat of illegal extraterritorial sanctions鈥� on European companies 鈥渢hat participate in the development of European energy supply鈥� could not be accepted, the politicians said. The bill鈥檚 actual aim was 鈥渟elling American liquefied natural gas and ending the supply of Russian natural gas to the European market鈥� in order to 鈥減rotect US聽jobs in the natural gas and petroleum industries鈥�. Threatening to impose penalties on companies from Germany, Austria, and other European countries for participating in or funding 鈥渘atural gas projects involving Russia, such as Nord Stream聽2, impacts European-American relations in a new and very negative way鈥�. Europe鈥檚 energy supply was 鈥淓urope鈥檚 affair,鈥� they said, urging the US State Department to continue efforts to amend the draft bill.
The Financial Times called the joint statement 鈥渦nusually strongly worded鈥�, adding that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was 鈥渓ikely to be more cautious鈥� of criticising US lawmakers, as she had 鈥渓ong been wary of the Nord Stream project, which is strongly opposed by Poland and other eastern European EU allies鈥�.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Chancellor Angela Merkel shared the concern expressed in the joint statement, reports Reuters in a separate article.
Read the press release in English and the Financial Times article in English (behind paywall) and the Reuters article in English .
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and its implications for international security.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The European Commission wants to directly negotiate with Russia a skeleton agreement on the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Otherwise, the project would 鈥渆nd up in court鈥�, Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said. He added that it would be against Russia鈥檚 interests if Nord Stream 2 was thwarted by Polish courts, as was the case with the OPAL pipeline. According to the newspaper, neither Russia nor the European-Russian consortium funding the pipeline were interested in negotiating an agreement with the European Commission, arguing that the same had not been necessary for Nord Stream 1. The Commission, however, says that 鈥�political and legal conditions have changed鈥�.听
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany鈥檚 dependence on imported fossil fuels for background. 聽
European Commission
The European Commission has approved under EU state aid rules the transfer of radioactive waste liabilities to a new public fund in return for the payment of about 24.1 billion euros by nuclear power plant operators in Germany, the Commission said in a press release. The Commission concluded that the state support is proportionate to the objective.
Find the press release in English .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Securing utility payments for the nuclear clean-up and the 威力彩玩法 dossier The challenges of Germany鈥檚 nuclear phase-out.
Bloomberg
Solar power costs are falling so rapidly that the technology will replace fossil fuels like coal much faster than previously forecast, Jess Shankleman and Hayley Warren say in an article for Bloomberg. According to an outlook by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), solar power already has an edge over coal power in Germany and the US, and a similar development is expected in rapidly growing China and India by 2021. 鈥淚t would mean that global carbon dioxide pollution from fossil fuels may decline after 2026, a contrast with聽the International Energy Agency鈥檚 central forecast, which sees emissions rising steadily for decades to come鈥�, they write.
Read the article in English .
See the 威力彩玩法 article Last major German solar cell maker surrenders to Chinese competition for more information.
Hamburger Abendblatt
A boat lift near Hamburg could be extended to become a pumped storage facility, Hamburger Abendblatt reports. In times of excess wind power production, water could be pumped to the upper part of the Elbe Lateral Canal, and drained through electricity turbines in times of power scarcity, the article says. Green MP Julia Verlinden has encouraged local initiators of the project in Scharnebeck to pursue it, since 鈥渢he energy transition needs innovative ideas all over the country鈥�.
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier New technologies for the Energiewende for more information.
Handelsblatt Online / BMUB
The devastating fire in London鈥檚 Grenfell Tower has sparked a debate over the risks of insulating materials in buildings - a key component of Germany鈥檚 energy transition in the construction sector - Silke Kersting writes on Handelsblatt Online. 鈥淭here are constant suspicions that these materials pose a great fire hazard鈥�, Kersting says. Kai Warnecke, head of real estate owners鈥� association Haus & Grund, said it was likely that 鈥減olystyrene-like insulants鈥� played a decisive role in spreading the fire so quickly, leading him to call for an immediate ban on the material.
Germany鈥檚 Environment Ministry (BMUB) published a factsheet on insulating materials in the wake of the incident, saying that 鈥渁s far as anyone can judge, such a catastrophe cannot occur鈥� if existing security standards are respected. BMUB said only non-inflammable materials are allowed to be used in buildings higher than 22 metres in Germany.聽
Find the article in German and the BMUB factsheet in German .
Economic Council (CDU Wirtschaftsrat)
Members of the German business association , associated with Angela Merkel鈥檚 Christian Democratic Union (CDU), want an end to the grand government coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD), and call for a 鈥渞ealignment鈥� of the country鈥檚 climate and energy policy. In a survey among the association鈥檚 12,000 members, 72 percent of respondents said they would prefer a coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP), says their press release. Eighty percent say that support for renewables expansion should be gradually phased out, and 69 percent agree that Germany should not have more ambitious CO鈧� reduction targets than the EU goal for 2030.
Find the press release in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Considerable discrepancies between the German Green Party鈥檚 draft election programme and the 鈥�Ten-point plan for Green governance鈥� it published in May will make this weekend鈥檚 federal party conference difficult, writes Henrike Ro脽bach in an opinion piece in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. For example, the two documents refer to different coal-exit dates, and only the draft programme says that from 2030 onward, only emission-free cars should be produced. In light of the weak polling results three months before the elections, the Greens 鈥渕ust not make any more mistakes鈥�, writes Ro脽bach.
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende and the factsheet The Green Party's draft election programme - a first look.
Greenpeace Germany
Protesting for global climate protection efforts and against the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Greenpeace Germany has projected a heart-shaped map of the world and the words 鈥淧lanet Earth first鈥� onto the Elbphilharmonie building, the new concert hall in Hamburg, where leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) will attend a concert on the sidelines of their summit in July. 鈥淭he heads of state and government must prove that the planet鈥檚 protection is of utmost importance 鈥� also without Trump鈥�, said Anike Peters, Greenpeace鈥檚 energy expert, in a press release.
Find the press in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 articles聽German reactions to US decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement听补苍诲听Germany, China urge US to remain in climate agreement.
