Last week, Germany’s four transit grid operators announced the renewable energy surcharge for 2016. The reactions to it show how confusing the whole matter has become. Craig Morris reports. Next year, the surcharge will rise to 6.35 cents per kilowatt-hour from the current 6.17 cents (source in German). The news is being spun in every which way. Critics are quick to point out that the surcharge has reached a new record high. Proponents of renewables emphasize that the surcharge only rose by three percent. For Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, the top politician handling the Energiewende, the outcome demonstrates that “we managed to stabilize the surcharge and even lower the average household power rate” (press release in German). As someone who needs to be reelected, Gabriel can be excused for stretching the truth. His ministry lists the “binding growth corridors” as a main reason for the relative stability. Yet, neither technology is within its growth corridor of 2.4-2.6 GW. For wind, 4.7 GW was installed last year – nearly twice as much as the lower end … Continue reading German renewable energy surcharge – record high or stable?