Germany’s Energiewende paints Austria into a corner

For now, Germany’s southern neighbour Austria benefits greatly from exports of cheap German power, but this arrangement is about to come to an end, Irmgard Kirschko writes in the Austrian newspaper Kurier. An “artificial shortage” at the border, which is going to be introduced by autumn 2018, will increase power prices in Austria, while the ongoing energy transition (Energiewende) in Germany is poised to reduce the country’s export capacity, Kirschko says. Germany will shut down its last nuclear plant in 2022 and will gradually cut back lignite power production, energy researcher Craig Morris is quoted in the article. In addition, the switch to tenders for renewables is likely to slow down the expansion of green energy sources, Kirschko writes. Austria will have to ramp up its own renewable energy capacities as the lack of alternatives to import dependency will inevitably push energy prices up, she writes.

Read the article in German here.

For background, see the CLEW factsheet Why power prices turn negative.