Germany – Energy Transition https://energytransition.org The Global Energiewende Tue, 07 Mar 2023 10:26:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 When Germany Can’t Give it Away: Negative-Price Power Hours https://energytransition.org/2023/03/when-germany-cant-give-it-away-negative-price-power-hours/ https://energytransition.org/2023/03/when-germany-cant-give-it-away-negative-price-power-hours/#respond Thu, 09 Mar 2023 08:00:22 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27993 In 2022, negative prices occurred during 69 of the total of 8,760 hourly prices in German day-ahead trading. Last year, there were 139 cases of hours when utilities had to pay to give away electricity. This adds to the high price of electricity in Germany, but it doesn’t explain it. Paul Hockenos has the details. Pumped-storage power station, Rönkhausen, Germany. (Photo by Dr.G.Schmitz, CC BY-SA 3.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/03/when-germany-cant-give-it-away-negative-price-power-hours/feed/ 0 Despite Fossil Fuel Price Rise, Germany’s Emissions Miss Target https://energytransition.org/2023/03/despite-fossil-fuel-price-rise-germanys-emissions-miss-target/ https://energytransition.org/2023/03/despite-fossil-fuel-price-rise-germanys-emissions-miss-target/#respond Tue, 07 Mar 2023 09:56:36 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27981 Although overall energy consumption fell, Germany’s emissions declined only slightly: because coal-fired power plants stepped in for Russian gas. A leading German energy think tank argues that Germany has to undertake structural reforms to get on track. Nevertheless, Germany’s emissions are lower than ever before – evidence that Germany can hit targets by replacing fossil fuels with renewables.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/03/despite-fossil-fuel-price-rise-germanys-emissions-miss-target/feed/ 0 Brown to Green: Germany’s pockmarked Lausitz becomes a solar powerhouse https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/#respond Tue, 14 Feb 2023 08:00:38 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27859 Hands down, Germany has become the world leader in transforming its post-coal mined lands into solar farms, particularly in the nation’s eastern Lusatia region, where more than a century of intense surface mining has despoiled much of the landscape. According to a 2018 report, region-wide there are some 9 GW of solar project potential across nearly 50,000 hectares of torn up land.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/feed/ 0 Losing Lützerath: To save Germany, the occupied village must be destroyed https://energytransition.org/2023/01/losing-lutzerath-to-save-germany-the-occupied-village-must-be-destroyed/ https://energytransition.org/2023/01/losing-lutzerath-to-save-germany-the-occupied-village-must-be-destroyed/#respond Thu, 19 Jan 2023 08:00:49 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27827 By the time you read this, the village of Lützerath may already be gone – part of the price paid for getting RWE, Germany’s largest energy producer, to stop mining and burning brown coal by 2030. Yet short term, RWE is ramping generation at their lignite-burning plants, among the most polluting in Europe, to make up for sanctioned Russian gas and help Germany get through the next two winters.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/01/losing-lutzerath-to-save-germany-the-occupied-village-must-be-destroyed/feed/ 0 Pyrrhic coal exit: Germany’s bad bargain with energy colossus RWE https://energytransition.org/2023/01/27811/ https://energytransition.org/2023/01/27811/#respond Tue, 17 Jan 2023 10:00:54 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27811 Heralded as a “courageous step for climate protection,” Germany’s government has in 2022 reached a compromise with RWE, Europe’s most polluting energy firm, to stop mining and burning its filthy brown coal by 2030 – a full eight years ahead of previous plans. But the deal, negotiated by several Green-Party led ministries, also authorizes RWE to keep several units at one of the world’s most toxic...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/01/27811/feed/ 0 RWE transformed: Germany’s biggest energy producer, and one of the world’s dirtiest, leaps into renewables https://energytransition.org/2023/01/rwe-transformed/ https://energytransition.org/2023/01/rwe-transformed/#respond Thu, 12 Jan 2023 10:00:09 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27797 Founded in 1898 in the industrial city of Essen, RWE has grown into one of the largest electricity producer in Germany and increasingly in the world. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis has upset plans to immediately reduce RWE’s lignite burn, in mid-October the company finally embraced a total coal phase-out by 2030. The about face comes days after RWE announced a...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/01/rwe-transformed/feed/ 0 Can Germany’s Greens slam the door on its nuclear fleet? https://energytransition.org/2022/11/can-germanys-greens-slam-the-door-on-its-nuclear-fleet/ https://energytransition.org/2022/11/can-germanys-greens-slam-the-door-on-its-nuclear-fleet/#respond Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:00:51 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27593 Fundamental to Germany’s Energiewende is its long-planned nuclear energy phase-out. For over a decade the nation has gradually reduced its reliance on atomic power with a planned end date of December 31st 2022. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the subsequent boycotting and weaponization of Russian fossil fuels, plus fears of a cold winter have upended the nuclear exit-strategy.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2022/11/can-germanys-greens-slam-the-door-on-its-nuclear-fleet/feed/ 0 Germany’s nuclear brinkmanship: politics and fear drive debate over last reactors https://energytransition.org/2022/11/germanys-nuclear-brinkmanship-politics-and-fear-drive-debate-over-last-reactors/ https://energytransition.org/2022/11/germanys-nuclear-brinkmanship-politics-and-fear-drive-debate-over-last-reactors/#respond Thu, 17 Nov 2022 10:00:57 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27609 Soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fears of a cold winter, energy shortages and a looming recession in Germany are causing much handwringing. Long dependent on cheap Russian gas, Germany’s crucial industrial sector is warning of blackouts and lasting economic damage if enough replacement fuel isn’t found. After months of partisan bickering between members of his...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2022/11/germanys-nuclear-brinkmanship-politics-and-fear-drive-debate-over-last-reactors/feed/ 0 Colombian Conundrum: Resetting development relationships with Germany and the world https://energytransition.org/2022/11/colombian-conundrum-resetting-development-relationships-with-germany-and-the-world/ https://energytransition.org/2022/11/colombian-conundrum-resetting-development-relationships-with-germany-and-the-world/#respond Thu, 10 Nov 2022 10:00:12 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27559 Led by reformer Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s new leftist government, the first in its long history, aims to both reduce its dependence on fossil fuel exports and achieve 100% clean electricity by 2032 while creating peace and creating economic prosperity. But to ensure these aims can justly be reached, Petro’s administration will need assistance, particularly from Germany. Its fifth largest trading...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2022/11/colombian-conundrum-resetting-development-relationships-with-germany-and-the-world/feed/ 0 Colombia’s first ever left-green government shakes up nation’s energy sector https://energytransition.org/2022/11/colombias-first-ever-left-green-government-shakes-up-nations-energy-sector/ https://energytransition.org/2022/11/colombias-first-ever-left-green-government-shakes-up-nations-energy-sector/#respond Tue, 01 Nov 2022 10:00:29 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27467 It was unthinkable that a leftist government could ever take office in Colombia – and then this summer it happened. Historically power has been held by the nation’s upper classes who used state violence to terrorize unions, minorities, indigenous groups and social reformers. But running on a platform promising a government dedicated towards waging civil peace and ensuring social and environmental...

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