Siemens lashes out at Energiewende policy / Big biogas potential
In response to accusations that Siemens鈥� job cuts in its fossil power business are 鈥渁ntisocial鈥� and caused by bad management, company CEO Joe Kaeser says the Energiewende is right in principle but is poorly managed. In an open letter addressed to SPD head Martin Schulz, who had voiced the聽 criticisms, Kaeser writes that 鈥済enerous subsidies鈥� have created jobs mainly in China鈥檚 solar industry, while the German government鈥檚 refusal to provide risk coverage to nuclear or coal-fired power plants was a competitive disadvantage for Siemens in export markets. 鈥淚n Germany, there is hardly any demand for gas and coal plants.鈥�
Kaeser argues that it is wrong to accuse his company鈥檚 management of having missed the boat on the energy transition. He says that Siemens is 鈥渢he world鈥檚 renewable market leader in terms of installed capacity鈥�, and that its wind power business, Siemens Gamesa, is 鈥渢he leading producer of renewables鈥�.
Kaeser stresses that his company is rapidly increasing the number of its employees both in Germany and abroad, while shedding jobs in its turbine business. Siemens hired 38,000 people last year, 5,200 of them in Germany, and plans to do likewise in the coming years. 鈥淭his would mean that we hire around 16,000 people in Germany, while those 2,900 jobs are lost鈥� in the German power plant division.
On 16 November, Siemens announced its intention to cut about 6,900 jobs globally, mainly at its power and gas division hit by rapid renewables growth.
Read the open letter in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier The energy transition鈥檚 effect on jobs and businesses for more information.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Politicians have to take responsibility for the fact that the recently announced layoffs at Siemens are the consequence of wrong Energiewende policies, argues Carsten Knop in an opinion piece for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.聽 鈥淚t is a structural change intended by policy that managers now have to take responsibility for, and that employees have to suffer from鈥�, writes Knop.
Read the commentary in German .
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
Even if the job cuts in Siemens鈥� fossil turbine division are not caused by management mistakes, the company handles the situation badly, writes Detlef Esslinger in a commentary in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Siemens not only announced layoffs and plant closures earlier this month, but also huge profits and a higher payout to shareholders. 鈥淲hoever makes a profit of six billion euros and raises the dividend should have more ideas than simply closing plants鈥�, writes Esslinger. 鈥淚f you want people to despair over the market economy, capitalism, and globalisation, you have to behave like [Siemens CEO Joe] Kaeser & Co.鈥�
Germany could ramp up its biomethane production from the current 9 terawatt hours (tWh) per year to 100 tWh by 2050, the German Energy Agency (dena) says in a press release. 鈥淏iomethane can contribute significantly to the energy transition without any conflict of interests with respect to food and animal fodder production鈥�, says dena head Andreas Kuhlmann. Biomethane is produced from biogas, and can be used and stored in the same way as natural gas, the dena explains. The gas could be used in integrated power, gas, and heating grids, and serve as 鈥渁n ideal supplement to intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar power鈥�, Kuhlmann says.聽
Find the press release in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier Bioenergy in Germany for more information.
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
The European Commission pressures Germany to make progress on expanding its power transmission grid and the important north-south SuedLink and SuedOstLink power lines, Michael Bauchm眉ller and Thomas Kirchner write in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. The 700-kilometre lines are designed to deliver renewable power from 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 windy north to industrial centres in the south. They are meant to prevent the system from shutting down wind turbines in periods 聽of excess power production, and to avoid having to fall back on conventional plants because wind power cannot reach the south. The Commission has identified the power lines that are slated for completion by 2025 as a 鈥減roject of common European interest鈥�, which allows Germany to draw on EU funds to cover construction costs and to benefit from quicker licensing procedures, the authors say. 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) says that preparations continue 鈥渁ccording to plan鈥�, but given the sustained resistance to the massive infrastructure project by affected residents, completion by 2025 might turn out to be 鈥�an optimistic target鈥�, the authors write.
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier The energy transition and 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 power grid for background.
Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) / Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Researcgh (PIK) / European Climate Foundation (ECF)
The EU should quickly introduce a minimum price to the Emissions Trading System (ETS), because the current prices do not create the necessary incentives for low-carbon assets, according to a policy paper published jointly by the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), the Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and the European Climate Foundation (ECF). 鈥淭he quick introduction of a price floor to the EU ETS would also make it more likely for Germany to reach its 2020 climate targets鈥攚hich the country is about to miss if emissions do not fall sharply within the next two years鈥�, according to a press release.
Find the press release and policy paper in English .
pwc
The future power market will be dominated by decentralised energy generation and storage technologies, and new business ideas to control those installations and run them profitably will become increasingly important, says a study compiled by management consultancy pwc. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the installation or operation of [decentralised renewable power arrays] that will cause difficulties, but the logic of their integration.鈥� The study also says that the electrification of transport will be one of the biggest challenges in the years to come. While large utilities already have many digital business models, those pose great challenges for smaller rivals that lack the necessary organisation and skills.
Find the study in German .
Find plenty of background in the dossiers The digitalisation of the Energiewende and Utilities and the energy transition.
ecologic
A long-term policy approach to achieving the climate protection effects required by the Paris Agreement is crucial for the successful transformation of the affected economic sectors, but progress in this field varies considerably across different countries, a study drafted by the environmental research organisation ecologic has found. The policy frameworks 鈥渃hart pathways鈥� and 鈥渋dentify necessary policies鈥� for the Paris deal鈥檚 aims, but also 鈥渉elp build political support, engage stakeholders and expert advice, and create accountability鈥�, ecologic says.
Find the study in English .
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier COP23 鈥� All eyes on Germany for background on current international climate diplomacy and the factsheet on 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 Climate Action Plan 2050.
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam
The switch from conventional lightbulbs to more energy-efficient LEDs is likely to lead to greater light pollution, meaning that the nights in urban areas appear less dark than they would under natural circumstances, the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam research institute says in a press release. Light pollution is understood to have adverse effects on plants, animals, and humans alike. 鈥淏oth the intensity of artificial light and the area covered by it have increased by two percent annually since 2012鈥�, the Helmholtz Centre says. The researchers also argue that the energy and money saved by replacing conventional lamps with light-emitting diodes (LED) could lead to a 鈥渞ebound effect鈥�, leading consumers to invest extra money in even more lamps.
Find the press release in German , and a science journal article in English .
Climate Home
骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 Green Party has made the聽closure of seven gigawatts (GW) of coal power a deal-breaker if it is to enter government, Arthur Neslen writes for online climate news site Climate Home, citing an interview with the Green Member of European Parliament, Reinhard B眉tikofer.
Read the full story .
