State of the energy transition 2016 / BMW pokes fun at Tesla
dpa
The Energiewende is a mammoth project and includes a number of risks. News agency dpa, in an article carried by Wirtschaftswoche, runs a “fact check” of common claims regarding the energy transition, namely 1) the energy transition increases power costs, 2) “Monster power lines” for green electricity spoil nature, 3) There is too much power because of the renewable roll-out, 4) The energy transition is good for the climate, and 5) If the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, the lights will go out without coal. It finds there are no easy answers to any of these claims.
Read the article in German here.
For CLEW background on these issues, consult the factsheet What German households pay for power and the article Renewable energy levy set to rise in 2017 – think tank, the factsheet Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets, and the dossier New technologies for the Energiewende.
Zeit Online
In an interview with Zeit Online’s Matthias Breitinger, Peter Mock, Europe managing director of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), says European authorities have been more restrained than their counterparts in the United States when it comes to Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal. In the EU it is not the European Commission but rather individual member states — where industry policy often plays a large role — that oversee jurisdiction in that area. In Germany, VW has called in affected cars but owners have not been awarded compensation. Nevertheless, while the process in Europe has been slower, legal proceedings are expected to clarify possible claims of customer compensation and many lawsuits in the EU are yet to come.
Read the article in German here.
Handelsblatt
Germany's energy transition has to become more European and more innovative, Michael Fuchs writes in Handelsblatt. Fuchs — who serves as vice chairman of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and is in charge of economy and energy policy for the party — notes in his commentary that the recently amended Renewable Energy Act (EEG), known as EEG 2017, has taken the first steps towards making the renewable energy sector more competitive. He adds, however, that a course correction is necessary to insure a stable framework for the expansion of renewable energy. He adds that there has been no innovation to the existing system despite 25 billion euro a year investment in the renewable energy sector.
Read the article in German here.
For background read a CLEW factsheet on the EEG 2017.
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) has issued a call for tenders for a scientific study on the further development of the EU’s electricity market design. The study is to examine and offer a short analysis of the current state of implementation of the third internal energy market package at EU level and the configuration of the electricity market design while also including a strategy analysis for up to eight EU member states. The ministry additionally calls for the study to identify barriers to the implementation of the energy transition in the EU’s existing legal framework and offer concrete proposals to further develop the EU’s legal framework.
Read the call for tenders in German here.
For background, read the CLEW dossier Germany's energy transition in the European context.
Focus Online
A BMW TV spot airing on U.S. television pokes fun at electric vehicle maker Tesla and its ongoing problems while promoting its own e-car, Sebastian Viehmann writes in Focus Online. Tesla is facing technical difficulties with its autopilot feature, possible setbacks with its battery Gigafactory and its hotly anticipated Tesla Model 3 is not expected to hit the market before 2017. In the BMW television advert, a man waits outside his home for his Tesla, looking enviously at his neighbour and his new BMW 3 Plug-In Hybrid (330e). BMW was itself the target of a similar advert from rival Toyota.
Read the article in German here.
