RWE holders forego dividend / Oil for heat back in vogue as prices fall
Die Welt
鈥淣orth Rhine-Westphalia cities agree to forego RWE 诲颈惫颈诲别苍诲鈥�
Despite their own financial difficulties, cities in North Rhine-Westphalia that own stakes in utility RWE have accepted that there will be no dividend this year, writes Daniel Wetzel in Die Welt. CEO Peter Terium will step down from running the company in the autumn and will become head of RWE鈥檚 new renewables unit, while COO Rolf Martin Schmitz will take over the helm of RWE.
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Find a 麻豆无码版 dossier on the utilities' troubles here.
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Rheinische Post
鈥淭he power of the RWE 肠颈迟颈别蝉鈥�
For many years, cities benefitted from holding stakes in utilities to which they awarded electricity concessions, but this is no longer the case, writes Antje H枚ning in a commentary in the Rheinische Post. 听RWE鈥檚 mistakes since the beginning of Germany鈥檚 energy transition mean the days of high dividends for municipalities are over. German cities where the company held concessions felt they were no longer taken seriously by the company鈥檚 chief executive Peter Terium, she writes. His decision to split-up RWE is also having a negative affect, which is why it is good that they have pushed for a change of management and Rolf Martin Schmitz will take over, she writes.
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Hamburger Abendblatt
鈥淗eating oil in demand again鈥�
Germans are shunning renewables for home heating in favour of oil units, due to the low price of oil, writes Martin Kopp in the Hamburger Abendblatt. That means companies which have specialised in renewables installations are seeking other sources of revenue, he says. But because the lion鈥檚 share of the energy transition has been in the power sector and not in the heating sector, this is still not a huge shift for the market. The German Heating Association (BDH) says that the sale and installation of oil heating rose 30 percent in 2015 over the previous year. At the same time, biomass units fell by 18 percent, heat pumps by 2 percent and solar thermal units by 10 percent.
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World Economic Forum
Report shows Germany at fore of global energy transition, with some hurdles
The annual World Economic Forum study comparing the structure of energy markets around the globe, showed Germany and several other advanced economies leading the transition to renewable energy. This is offering听new opportunities, but also听posing challenges for energy security, the report said. 听Citing Germany鈥檚 ambitious plans to exit nuclear energy and cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050, and its 鈥渋mpressive capabilities across the renewables value chain,鈥� it also said costs such as high electricity prices,听especially for households, but also听for industry had caused it to drop eight places against the 2009 benchmark to number 24 out of 126 country rankings in the annual index. The WEF ranked Germany behind other industrialised countries such as France (4), UK (16) and Italy (22) but ahead of Canada (30), the United States (48), Japan (50) and Australia (53).
Read the full report in English .
Find a factsheet on household power prices here and a factsheet on industrial power prices here.
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Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG
Researchers say experiment advances power to gas technology
Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG said in a press release it had successfully fed up to ten percent hydrogen into the natural gas network in two municipalities in the state, a step toward improving the technology. The experiment was part of a research project aimed at improving power to gas technology. By transforming excess wind power into hydrogen, power to gas could be a key technology for the Energiewende and the answer to power storage issues, according to the group.
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Handelsblatt Online
Statoil head says Germany won't reach climate goals without better plan
In an interview with Klaus Stratmann of the Handelsblatt, the head of Norway鈥檚 Statoil, Jens Okland, said he didn鈥檛 think Germany would fulfill its climate goals with its current political approach. Okland said that the political situation is unclear, which is hurting gas power plants and reducing their use. Nevertheless, gas still plays a big role in the heat sector and in industry, and demand is very stable in those areas, he pointed out.听 Okland said he would like to see emissions trading reform to raise the price of CO2 and create more demand for gas by cutting demand for coal. 鈥淕ermany will not reach its climate goals if it doesn鈥檛 force a coal exit and put forth a convincing plan,鈥� he said.
Find a 麻豆无码版 Factsheet on Germany's climate targets here.
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Sueddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淎ccident at the Fessenheim nuclear plant was more serious than believed鈥�
An accident in 2014 at France鈥檚 Fessenheim nuclear plant on the German border was more serious than believed, according to information obtained by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and the Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR). According to an article in the SZ detailing what happened, the reactor was temporarily out of control 鈥� the result of 鈥渢echnical failures and chaos.鈥�
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