The lower house of the German Parliament voted nearly 80% in favor of the proposed amendments to Germany’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG) on the last Friday in June. Craig Morris takes a look at the main changes and examines why some people are upset, and others aren’t.
All posts tagged: Bioenergy
Poland’s Renewable Energy Story (Warning: It Sucks)
It is no secret that Poland’s energy system largely depend on coal power. When some actors within the government finally decided to support renewables, the vertically integrated and state-owned energy corporations did everything to defend the destructive status quo that their business model relies on. The case can serve as a cautionary tale, argues Michał Bacia.
What future role for today’s utilities?
We live in an age of quickly changing business models, and the trend is clearly towards Big Box megastores – to the detriment of mom-and-pop shops. But Craig Morris says the energy sector is shaping up to go in the opposite direction.
German energy targets: “at most” replaces “at least”
On Wednesday, the German government is to discuss the new proposals for energy policy revisions. The focus is on price. Craig Morris back-calculated what needs to be done to hit the government’s official targets, for instance for 2020.
P2G gets going
At the end of November, Germany’s Thüga Group exported the first hydrogen made from electricity into the country’s gas network at a point in Frankfurt. Craig Morris says the event could be the beginning of something big.
Zero net emissions by 2050?
Germany’s Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt or UBA) has come up with a proposal for a 95 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, far more than the country’s current goal of an 80 percent reduction. Craig Morris points out that the recommendations are intended not only for a German audience.
Power to gas – when will it be competitive?
In the long run, Germany will need seasonal storage of solar power from the summer for the winter. German researchers are banking on “power to gas” (P2G). Craig Morris takes a look at how far away we are.
Renewables co-op fights Vattenfall for control of Berlin grid
A Berlin citizens’ group wants to wrest control of the city’s electricity grid in order to promote renewable energy. They accuse current operator Vattenfall of failing to seek alternatives to fossil fuels. Louise Osborne met the activists.
Dubious reports about “Energiewende in doubt”
The Anglo world repeatedly reads news about Germany’s changes to energy policy as a sign that Germany is abandoning renewables. Craig Morris says the misunderstanding is cultural; the success of Germany’s switch to efficiency and renewables, macroeconomic.
“Endless Energy” from Campaign to Mainstream
Envisioned to help counterbalance the public relations might of the Big Four, the Renewable Energies Agency has become a valuable think tank in its own right, writes Paul Hockenos, US freelance journalist living in Berlin.