Energy in Germany – Legal Issues, Facts and Opinions
The Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) has presented its latest Verified Emissions Table Report for 2011 (VET 2011). According to the report, the 1,651 installations that are subject to emission trading in Germany emitted about 450 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2011. This is a decline of 1% compared with 2010.
Continue reading ‘DEHSt Publishes Verified Emissions Table Report 2011′
The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has released an evaluation report on the Equalisation Scheme Ordinance (AusglMechV). Under the present scheme, the four German transmission system operators (TSOs) have been selling renewable energy for which guaranteed feed-in tariffs are paid in accordance with the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) since 2010. Tthe new legislation has led to a considerable decrease in EEG marketing costs, BNetzA says.
In connection with the amendment of the State Planning Act (Landesplanungsgesetz) the state of Baden-Württemberg enacted a new wind power decree in order to help increase the share of onshore wind power in the state energy mix from just under 1% to 10% until 2020.
Continue reading ‘Baden-Württemberg Enacts New Wind Power Decree’
The textile company Vowalon Beschichtung GmbH, Treuen, announced to stop payments of the so-called EEG surcharge for renewable energy to its energy supplier. The company believed that the surcharge was unconstitutional and imposed an unacceptable burden upon middle-sized companies, managing director Gregor Götz said on Tuesday.
Continue reading ‘Middle-sized Textile Companies to Challenge EEG Surcharge – Vowalon Stops Payment’
In today’s session the Bundesrat (Federal Council) did not follow the vote of the Bundestag (Parliament) of late March regarding a bill amending the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), which intends to cut solar feed-in tariffs. Instead the Federal Council invoked the mediation committee of the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) and Bundesrat to find an agreement. Because of a two-thirds objection, the bill is likely to be materially revised, as the CDU/CSU/FDP coalition government does not have the two-thirds majority that would be necessary to reject the Bundesrat’s objection by the Bundestag.
Continue reading ‘Federal Council Stops Solar Feed-in Tariff Cuts and Invokes Mediation Committee’
Baden-Würrtemberg intends to increase the share of renewable energies in Baden Württemberg’s electricity production significantly. By the year 2020 at least 10% of produced electricity shall come from “domestic” wind power. To get there, the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg yesterday approved the amended State Planning Act (Landesplanungsgesetz).
Continue reading ‘Parliament of Baden-Württemberg Supports Expansion of Wind Turbines’
Until 2020 greenhouse gas emissions in Germany will fall by 31% below the level of 1990, a new McKinsey study predicts. Simultaneously the costs for the energy shift towards more renewable energy for companies and private households will rise by 60% from currently EUR 13.5 billion to EUR 21.5 billion, and the security of the electricity supply will decrease, McKinsey says.
On 1 Mai 2012 the German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr. Philipp Rösler, the Austrian Minister of Economics, Family and Youth, Reinhold Mitterlehner, and the Swiss Federal Councillor for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Doris Leuthard, signed a joint declaration for the further development of pumped-storage power plants.
Yesterday the German grid regulator (BNetzA) published its “Status Report on Grid-based Energy Supply in Winter 2011/12″. The report shows that the situation in the electricity grids was tense. In order to maintain the high security of supply level, transmission system operators (TSOs) had to intervene frequently.
Continue reading ‘BNetzA Report on Tense Electricity Grid Situation in Winter 2011/12′
The German government recently adopted the bill on the establishment of a market transparency agency for gas and electricity wholesale, which was presented by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) in March. The bill had subsequently been supplemented by competences for the agency regarding the supervision of the market for fuels.
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Dr. Matthias Lang Rechtsanwalt |
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Prof. Dr. U. Mutschler
Rechtsanwalt, Honorary Professor of FU Berlin |