Pressure on utilities to pay more for nuclear storage
Reuters
Nuclear commission wants utilities to supplement clean-up provisions
The commission on payments for the nuclear clean-up insists that nuclear power station operators have to supplement the provisions they have made for storing radioactive waste, Reuters reports. Only then could the state take on the risk of rising costs for the construction of interim and final storage facilities. The commission believes that the estimated interest of 4.6 percent on the utilities鈥� provisions is too high, which is why a supplementation of 30 to 100 percent of the 17.3 billion euros in provisions would be needed. The commission will give its recommendation on how to finance the nuclear clean-up in Germany to the government on 13 April.
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on securing payments for the nuclear clean-up from utilities here.
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Handelsblatt
鈥淪hock to the power market鈥�
The managers of the largest German utilities, E.ON and RWE, are currently watching their business models implode, write J眉rgen Flauger and Franz Hubik in the Handelsblatt. Falling power prices have seen gas-fired plants, followed by hard-coal fired and now even lignite plants and nuclear power stations, being pushed out of the market. On the futures market the power price fell under 20 euros per megawatt-hour. Five years ago, it was around 60 euros at times. Consumers are not profiting from the development because high taxes, levies and grid fees keep the prices up for them, the authors say. Market researchers have calculated that the capacity utilisation of the conventional power station fleet is falling 鈥� down by 17 percent compared to what utilities were planning.
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Handelsblatt Global Edition
鈥淟eading RWE鈥檚 Exit from Brown Coal鈥�
Rolf Martin Schmitz will become the new CEO of RWE鈥檚 conventional power branch when the renewable division is spun-off in April. His goal will be to minimise the burden imposed on the company by the federal government, be it the funding of the handling of nuclear waste or the phase-out of brown coal, Angela Hennersdorf writes in Handelsblatt Global Edition. Schmitz is working on a foundation solution, mirroring the RAG foundation that is in charge of phasing out Germany鈥檚 hard coal mining operations.
Read the article in English (behind pay-wall).
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Reuters
鈥淪envion above offer price in Frankfurt market debut鈥�
German wind turbine maker Senvion has launched its stock market debut. The shares started trading at 16 euros, Reuters reports. Senvion had pulled its planned debut last week after failing to attract sufficient investor demand. It then lowered initial asking prices and reduced the volume of shares. Senvion works mainly in Europe, the US, Australia and Canada. In Europe, the company is facing large competition from Spain鈥檚 Gamesa and Germany鈥檚 Nordex, Reuters writes.
Read the report in English and a longer piece in German .
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Carbon Pulse
鈥淐oal clings on as Germany lays ground for 2050 climate goals鈥�
An extensive German energy transition in all sectors involves profound changes for society in general - and therefore needs cross-party support. Carbon Pulse鈥檚 Ben Garside reports from a trip to Berlin and Lusatia, Germany鈥檚 second biggest lignite mining region, where it became clear that a coal phase-out is 鈥渁 question of when, not if鈥�, he writes. The environment ministry asked state, regional and local governments, as well as civil society, to contribute ideas to its Climate Action Plan 2050, in order to include all stakeholders in the discussion.
Read the feature in English .
Read the full catalogue of measures for a future Climate Action Plan 2050 in German .
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Oliver Wyman / K.GROUP
Data protection and cyber security will become hot topics for grid operators
Hot issues for gas and power grid operators will in the future shift from security of supply and efficiency to data protection and cyber security, a study by consultancies Oliver Wyman and K.GROUP says. The majority of the 50 German grid operators polled by researchers expects massive changes to the market and grid structures because of falling storage costs, intelligent generation and smart users.
Read the press release in German .
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Der Tagesspiegel
鈥淪top the perception of CO2 simply as a pollutant鈥�
The right-wing populist political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), founded in 2013, fundamentally questions climate change in the current draft of its first federal party program, writes Fabian Leder in Der Tagesspiegel. In the already toned-down 80-page draft, the AfD questions the German nuclear phase-out and writes of the 鈥減ositive effect鈥� of CO2 on 鈥減lant growth and the global food supply鈥�. The AfD claims this information is withheld from the public by the German government and the IPCC. 鈥淲e will stop the perception of CO2 simply as a pollutant.鈥�
Read the article in German .
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pv magazine
鈥淪olar cell produces hydrogen instead of electricity鈥�
Scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin developed a new kind of solar cell that could convert 12 percent of sunlight directly into hydrogen. The team solved the biggest challenge in the development of such cells and found the right composition for a layer that guarantees the required amount of light transmission, as well as the protection of the cell itself, writes pv magazine.
Read the article in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 dossier on technologies in the Energiewende here.
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Windkraft-Journal / World Wind Energy Association (WWEA)
鈥淐itizens鈥� wind energy threatened by discriminating policy鈥�
The move away from feed-in tariffs towards an auction system for wind energy is expected to put small, community-based projects at a competitive disadvantage, according to a study by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and the Renewable Energy Association of the German state North-Rhine Westfalia (LEE NRW). 鈥淐ommunity Wind brings high levels of much needed acceptance and contributes to local added value,鈥� the study points out. In contrast, the planned policy changes have 鈥渢he potential for an adverse 鈥榥on-involved鈥� reaction,鈥� according to WWEA president Peter Rae.
Read the Windkraft-Journal article in English .
Read the full study 鈥淗eadwind and Tailwind for Community Power鈥� in English .
Read a 威力彩玩法 dossier on citizens' energy here.
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IW 碍枚濒苍
鈥淐lean portfolio鈥�
It is not only for ethical or ecological reasons that companies, foundations and churches are divesting from fossil fuels and technologies 鈥� it also makes economical sense, because the prices for coal and gas have plummeted in recent years, writes the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW 碍枚濒苍). This effects the value of the shares of many large oil and coal companies. The implementation of the Paris climate deal will also see the prospects for these companies deteriorate further and turn their resources into stranded assets, or even toxic assets, the article says.
Read the article in German .
