“Coalition of the cheap“

Cheap German power exports hinder neighbouring countries’ energy transitions, Austrian environment minister Andrä Rupprechter told German weekly Der Spiegel. “Germany produces too much cheap electricity that other countries like Austria have to accept. With current power prices, investments in hydro or wind power are not competitive without state aid. […] The direction of the German Energiewende is simply wrong,” said Rupprechter. One of the issues is so called loop flows – excess electricity ‘spilling over’ from Germany into neighbouring countries on days when renewables generation is high and coal-fired plants are kept at full power. Together with other countries, Rupprechter aims to create an energy alliance against Germany, writes Der Spiegel.

For background, read the CLEW factsheet Loop flows: Why is wind power from northern Germany putting east European grids under pressure?