With Eon’s historic decision to restructure we now for the first time will have  a large energy supplier not being pulled in two directions, but acting on the single imperative of bringing new energy solutions to customers. This removes one of the key obstacles that has been hindering the energy transition, writes Simon Skillings, former Director of Strategy and Policy at Eon UK and now independent consultant and associate at environmental think … [Read more...]
Eon sells Italian coal and gas power plants
Eon, Germany’s largest energy company, has decided to sell its Italian coal and gas generation assets to Czech energy company EnergetickĂ˝ a PrĹŻmyslovĂ˝ Holding (EPH). … [Read more...]
Wind industry shake-up as policy uncertainty drives 25% of suppliers out of business
More than 120 suppliers have collapsed or stayed out of the wind business in the past two years, including 88 from Asia, 23 from Europe and 18 from North America, as the result of a "prolonged market contraction". That is the major conclusion to come out of the 2015 edition of the annual Global Wind Supply Chain Update  published by FTI Consulting. … [Read more...]
New German legislation will shake up EU biofuels market – but how?
New German legislation, which will become effective in 2015, has resulted in a drastic improvement of the climate performance of biodiesel produced in Germany. But the effects the new rules will have on the German and wider EU biofuels market are still highly uncertain, says Elmar Baumann, Managing Director of the VDB, the Association of the German Biofuel Industry, in an interview with Energy Post. “All we know is that they will be profound.” … [Read more...]
Eon’s new strategy: focus on renewables, distribution, customer solutions, get out of old power generation
Eon, the largest German energy company, will henceforth “focus on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions and combine its conventional generation, global energy trading, and exploration and production businesses in a new, independent company, a majority of which will be spun off to Eon SE’s shareholders. … [Read more...]
Wishing away lignite – EU climate policy ignores elephant in the room
While mining and combustion of lignite impose high burdens on the environment, Europe’s least expensive fuel remains impervious to climate policies or market trends. Poland remains committed to lignite power generation. In Germany, the world’s largest lignite industry provides backup electricity for nuclear phase-out and renewable power intermittency. Mediterranean sunshine has not kept Greece and Turkey from relying on lignite rather than … [Read more...]
Europe’s nuclear future may hinge on UK’s Hinkley deal
The fate of future nuclear power projects in Europe could hinge on whether government-backed guarantees for Britain’s Hinkley Point C power station survive an expected challenge from Austria in Europe’s highest court. Analysts agree that large nuclear undertakings have become too costly and risky for private investors alone. For this reason many EU countries are backing the UK’s support for nuclear power. Timothy Spence reports from Vienna. … [Read more...]
Energy storage: stormy growth but no one-size-fits-all solution
The debate over which energy storage technology will prove to be the best in the long-term is misguided, argues Chris Dalby of Oilprice.com. There will be no one-size-fits-all winner. He discusses some of the latest developments in energy storage, which show that different situations will lead to different solutions. … [Read more...]
Why not follow the Swiss Energiewende?
While Germany rushes ahead with its nuclear phase-out and France dithers, Switzerland is following a third way away from nuclear and towards renewables. The Swiss version of the Atomausstieg/Energiewende is slow but steady, with concern for economic as well as environmental consequences. Bern’s policy offers important lessons to Paris, Berlin and others – all the more so because Switzerland is one of the most nuclear-dependent countries in the … [Read more...]
Get this: Germany does not have generous subsidies for renewables
In an otherwise well-written and informative article on the recent decision by the EU Court of Justice on renewables policy, Energy Post repeats the unfounded notion that Germany has generous subsidies. This is wrong – and the difference matters: the German system of feed-in tariffs favours small companies and cooperatives. Now, the EU wants to kill feed-in tariffs, ostensibly because of the cost – but what’s at stake is freedom. … [Read more...]
Report on best practices in “green growth”
A new report was launched by the Green Growth Best Practice (GGBP) initiative which pulls together the many tangible benefits that governments and communities are realizing through the adoption of green growth policies. The report, Green Growth in Practice: Lessons from Country Experiences, is the result of a collaborative partnership between the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and the … [Read more...]
EU Court upholds national renewable subsidy schemes in surprise decision
In a rare event, the EU Court of Justice has overturned the opinion of its own Advocate-General to rule that member states are not obliged to open up their national renewable subsidy schemes to producers in other countries. The decision was welcomed by renewables producers and member states such as Germany, which have generous subsidies in place. But it was lambasted by others, such as RECS International, an organisation of market players, … [Read more...]
EU Court of Justice: national support schemes for renewables compatible with EU law
The Swedish support scheme promoting green energy production in the national territory is compatible with EU law. Member States are not required to support the production of renewable energy in other EU States. The Renewable Energy Directive  allows Member States to support the production of green energy. Under that directive, Member States which grant benefits to producers  are not required to support the use of green energy produced in … [Read more...]
How to design a successful auction for renewable energy projects
In its new State Aid guidelines, the European Commission presents auctioning as the standard procedure for allocating support for renewable energy. Member States may deviate from this rule, but only for very good reasons. Although auctioning can in theory be a useful instrument, experience all over the world shows mixed results. It is crucial that auctions are adapted to the specific market context. If not, they will deliver sub-optimal results … [Read more...]
The stolen fruit of the Energiewende: German suppliers are not passing on lower wholesale prices to consumers
Complaints about the high costs of the Energiewende are misguided. The primary reason German users pay high electricity prices is not the government’s support scheme for renewable energy. It is rather the fact that energy suppliers are not passing on to consumers the large drop in wholesale prices that results from the rapidly expanding wind and solar generation capacity. This is evident from an analysis of German prices. A similar situation … [Read more...]