Germany's switch to renewable energies

[lostinblue 1,989]

Rising Energy Prices

Germans Grow Wary of Switch to Renewables

dapd

Germany's switch to renewable energies is getting expensive.

Germany's switch to renewable energies is driving up electricity bills across the country, with a green technology surcharge set to rise by nearly 50 percent next year. With frustration over the high price tag, it promises to become a key issue in next year's election campaign.

Germany's four leading electrical grid operators -- RWE, E.ON, Vattenfall and EnBW -- announced on Monday that they would be hiking by 47 percent the charge to consumers that goes into financing subsidies for producers of renewable energy. For the time being, solar, wind and biomass power make up a quarter of the country's electricity supply but are set to account for 80 percent by 2050.

ANZEIGEGermany's status as a global leader in clean energy technology has often been attributed to the population's willingness to pay a surcharge on power bills.

But now that surcharge for renewable energy is to rise to 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2013 from 3.6 in 2012. For an average three-person household using 3,500 kWh a year, the 47 percent increase amounts to an extra €185 on the annual electricity bill.

Consumer Priorities

The steep rise in the surcharge is likely to trigger debate about the cost to consumers of Berlin's energy revolution, a drastic energy policy reversal triggered by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan.

Known as the Energiewende, the shift to a sustainable energy supply based on renewable energies and the phasing out of nuclear energy by 2022 has evolved into one of the top priorities of Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

With costs associated with that energy revolution now spiralling, however, it is likely to become a central issue ahead of next fall's general elections. According to a recent poll conducted by Emnid, Germans are more interested in affordable electricity than in the nuclear phase-out. Now faced with the bill for the switchover, consumers may start to withdraw their support.

Sharing the Costs

"For many households, the increased surcharge is affordable," energy expert Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research told AFP. "But the costs should not be carried solely by private households."

But experts have pointed out that with many energy-intensive major industries either exempt from the tax or paying a reduced rate, the costs of the energy revolution are unfairly distributed.

Last week, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier unveiled a complex roadmap aimed at holding costs in check. But according to the German Federal Association for Energy and Water Management (BDEW), further expenses are still in store for consumers.

Meanwhile, the German Federal Association of Renewable Energies (BEE) maintains that not even half the surcharge goes into subsidies for green energy. "The rest is plowed into industry, compensating for falling prices on the stock markets and low revenue from the surcharge this year," BEE President Dietmar Schütz told the influential weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

Coalition Differences

As election year looms, the surcharge is also causing tension between Merkel's Christian Democrats and their junior partners, the Free Democrats.

Economics Minister Philipp Rösler called for a "rapid change to energy policy" in response to the network operators' announcement. He stressed that the switch to renewable energies must be economically viable and described the new surcharge as "an alarming signal."

Speaking to the Passauer Neue Presse at the weekend, he put the case for a reduced energy tax, only for the environment minister to reject the suggestion in an interview on Monday with public broadcaster ZDF. "I am not convinced by the idea," said Altmaier emphatically.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/consumers-bear-brunt-of-german-switch-to-renewable-energies-a-861415.html

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party taking the heat.....Wait until the choice is between a electric bill and feeding your family. ALL of europe is in a tailspin into another depression. I cannot feed the children BUT I am saving the world.

[Ban Hammer 13,567]

Germany electricty (us cents/kwh) = 27.81 on November 1, 2011

that's more than double my current cost.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Germany electricty (us cents/kwh) = 27.81 on November 1, 2011

that's more than double my current cost.

Electricity in Europe has always been expensive, although for the longest time, France and Sweden had cheaper electricity than the US. The gap widened as America invested more in gas powered plants, gas being a commodity the Germans do not have in the same abundance as we do.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Gegel

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You DO understand that Germany has the strongest economy on planet Earth, don't you?

Also (pulling a Palin) . . . German workers have a social safety net that is a century ahead of ours. Start with much higher salaries, even for "minimum wage" workers, a 35-hour work week that is aiming for 30 hours. Thirteen to fourteen pay checks a year. A one-year paid maternity leave with the guarantee that the job will be waiting for her, 21 work days of paid vacation that, if scheduled smartly around weekends and holidays, can become more than a month. All of this some of you would call socialism, and yet Germany is a very capitalistic country that reels in gazillions for their world-class products that they export around the globe. Yes, even the "British" Rolls Royce and Bentleys are German products now, as are the Italian Lamborghinis. Hitler may have failed to control all of Europe, but the Krauts are close to controlling the EU with their financial power.

So Germany's energy prices will go up. Yet -- like Mr. Obama -- German's government understands that innovation is the key to leadership on the world market and this will turn out to be money well spent. Here in the U.S., the tea baggers would like the government to crawl under a rock and stay out of everything. We'd be still hunting buffalo if they had followed such a policy.

[scotinmass 588]

You DO understand that Germany has the strongest economy on planet Earth, don't you?

Also (pulling a Palin) . . . German workers have a social safety net that is a century ahead of ours. Start with much higher salaries, even for "minimum wage" workers, a 35-hour work week that is aiming for 30 hours. Thirteen to fourteen pay checks a year. A one-year paid maternity leave with the guarantee that the job will be waiting for her, 21 work days of paid vacation that, if scheduled smartly around weekends and holidays, can become more than a month. All of this some of you would call socialism, and yet Germany is a very capitalistic country that reels in gazillions for their world-class products that they export around the globe. Yes, even the "British" Rolls Royce and Bentleys are German products now, as are the Italian Lamborghinis. Hitler may have failed to control all of Europe, but the Krauts are close to controlling the EU with their financial power.

So Germany's energy prices will go up. Yet -- like Mr. Obama -- German's government understands that innovation is the key to leadership on the world market and this will turn out to be money well spent. Here in the U.S., the tea baggers would like the government to crawl under a rock and stay out of everything. We'd be still hunting buffalo if they had followed such a policy.

Most European countries, especially Germany have a better standard of living than in the US. Shorter work week, way more vacations and paid leave. A much better life/work balance. They have got it right. Energy might cost a bit more now but when they reap the benefits of the investment in renewable energies the cost will come down and the air will be cleaner. The big energy companies here are too powerful to allow any kind of meaningful change in the US.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Most European countries, especially Germany have a better standard of living than in the US. Shorter work week, way more vacations and paid leave. A much better life/work balance. They have got it right. Energy might cost a bit more now but when they reap the benefits of the investment in renewable energies the cost will come down and the air will be cleaner. The big energy companies here are too powerful to allow any kind of meaningful change in the US.

E. On is pretty damn powerful. They control southern sections of the UK.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/16/germany-offshore-windfarms

Is Germany's windfarm dream a load of hot air?

Wrangling over subsidies has seen construction of offshore windfarms in Germany fall far behind schedule

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49433579

Merkel Urges Tax Cuts to Boost German Economy