Construction start for e-truck motorway / EU energy minister agreement
Frankfurter Rundschau
Construction has begun on the pilot project of Germany’s first e-highway for trucks using catenaries (overhead electrical wires) on motorways, reports Jutta Rippegather in Frankfurter Rundschau. In 2019, five test trucks will start using the 5 kilometre-long section in the state of Hesse. Siemens, the Technical University of Darmstadt, and five haulage companies are involved. The necessary electricity will come from renewable sources.
Find a short article by news agency dpa on the topic in German here.
Also read the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s transport sector.
The Council of the EU / BMWi
The EU is committed to reaching a target of at least 27 percent renewable energy of its overall energy consumption by 2030, the member states’ energy ministers agreed in Brussels. This formed part of a package of agreements on the Renewable Energy Directive, the Governance of the Energy Union Regulation and the Electricity Market Design directive and regulation. In 2018, the Council will negotiate with the European Parliament and the Commission on the final texts. The Commission had presented its clean energy package at the end of 2016. The European Parliament is expected to agree on its negotiating mandate for this directive in the beginning of next year. In a separate press release, German state secretary in the economy ministry Rainer Baake said the energy package was a “milestone” and the Council agreement would help determine the course of the future European energy transition.
Find the Council’s press releases in English here, here and here, read the BMWi press release in German here, and read a EURACTIV article in English here.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) report Coal 2017 shows that the world will continue to be “addicted” to coal for its energy supply for the coming years- Germany’s contribution to climate protection should be researching and testing new carbon capture and utilisation technologies, writes Andreas Mihm in an opinion piece in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Yes, Germany must exit coal, but by being level-headed and not overhasty,” writes Mihm. It was a mistake for Germany to forbid the export of highly modern coal power plants, as other countries now constructed often less efficient ones, writes Mihm.
Find background in the CLEW factsheets When will Germany finally ditch coal? and Coal in Germany.
Welt Online
It is in the interests of both Europe and the Russian people to halt the German-Russian natural gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2, writes Gerhard Gnauck in an opinion piece on Welt Online. It would increase the EU’s dependence on Russia as a major energy supplier, which could use it to its political advantage. On the other hand, gas and oil exports were responsible for about half of Russia’s state revenues. Only with this money could “today’s leaders in Moscow do what they like doing most: enrich themselves, halt reforms, and grow the military, FSB (Russia’s Federal Security Service) and police apparatus. Is that really in the interest of Russia?” writes Gnauck.
Read the opinion piece in German here.
For background, read the news digest entry German authorities issue first partial permit for Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the CLEW factsheet Germany’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Energie & Management
Germany’s politicians should focus less on the 2020 greenhouse gas reductions target and more on the long-term goals, especially in the heating and transport sectors, economist Andreas Löschel, who heads the advisory board authoring the German government’s energy transition monitoring report, told Energie & Management in an interview. During the ongoing talks to form a new government coalition after Germany’s election, political parties had discussed for weeks whether three, five or seven gigawatt coal capacity had to be taken off-line, but this too much short-term thinking. “We wouldn’t really need to be right on target for the 2020 goal, if there were signals that we’re on the right path for the long-term goals,” said Löschel.
Find the full interview in German here.
Find information on the last monitoring report in CLEW’s 2016 article Experts call for CO2 price to retain Energiewende’s credibility.
Handelsblatt Global
Battery-powered transport is only a transitional technology and hydrogen-powered fuel cells are the “real solution” for the future of mobility, writes Aldo Belloni, CEO of German chemical company and hydrogen supplier Linde Group in a guest commentary in Handelsblatt Global.
Read the guest commentary in English here.
Also read the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s transport sector.
