Uniper makes suggestions for coal exit / Uber e-cars in Berlin
Handelsblatt
German energy company Uniper is the first utility to put forward ideas for an eventual phase-out of coal-fired power generation following the launch of the coal-exit commission last month, Klaus Stratmann reports in Handelsblatt. Uniper CEO Klaus Sch盲fer suggests a plan to narrow the gap to Germany鈥檚 2020 emissions reduction target based on the model of the 2016 lignite security standby. Under Sch盲fer鈥檚 proposal, lignite-fired power plants would be preliminarily shut down and could only be reactivated in 鈥渆xtreme situations鈥�, before they would be taken offline permanently. This solution would also be 鈥渃omprehensible and credible鈥� to employees in coal mining districts. Sch盲fer believes that decommissions in the volume of 鈥渢hree to four gigawatts鈥� of installed power plant capacity by 2020 is both 鈥渃onceivable and achievable鈥�, according to the article. The additional 3.5GW of lignite capacity in the security standby would cost 500 million euro per year.
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Find background on Germany鈥檚 coal exit commission here and running updates on the commission鈥檚 work here.
The daily routines of electric vehicle owners are made more complicated and expensive by high charging rates and few charging station, according to a press release from LichtBlick. The green energy provider writes that, in some cases, seven of the 11 charging station operators in Germany charge rates far higher than the average kilowatt hour price of household electricity 鈥� sometimes nearly double. 鈥淭he charging infrastructure is a chaotic patchwork quilt. Regional monopolists dictate prices and create a Babylonian jumble of maps, apps, and payment systems. At the end, it鈥檚 the customer who loses,鈥� says Gero L眉cking, energy industry leader at LichtBlick.
Read the press release in German .
For background, read the dossier The energy transition and Germany鈥檚 transport sector.
Handelsblatt
Uber will expand its Berlin fleet with electric vehicles this fall, according to an article in Handelsblatt. Since March, the controversial ride-sharing company has been chauffeuring its Munich customers with roughly 30 battery-powered cars. In light of the recently-imposed driving bans on older diesel vehicles in cities like Hamburg and Stuttgart, Uber believes that it can help clean up the air, according to the article. 鈥淓lectric vehicles are ideal for our business model: short trips, little maintenance, no emissions. We can be part of the solution,鈥� Uber General Manager Germany Christoph Weigler said.
Read the article in German .
For background, read the article Court ruling opens door for diesel bans in German cities and the dossier The energy transition and Germany鈥檚 transport sector.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The European Commission estimates the necessary investment needed to achieve its target of reducing the EU鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 at 180 billion euros per year, writes Markus Fr眉hauf in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Brussels therefore sees a need to make sustainable financing more attractive to banks, insurers, and asset managers. Some German banks are aligning their activities with the EU鈥檚 goals, writes Fr眉hauf. Paderborn-based Bank for Church and Caritas is guided by environmental and social criteria and good corporate governance in asset management, according to portfolio manager Bernhard Matthes. 鈥淣inety-nine percent of our investments are sustainable,鈥� says Matthes.
Read the article in German .
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