Germany’s Energy Chaos

As Germany shifts towards green energy, even the operation of nuclear reactors is now becoming uneconomic. The operators of Germany’s nuclear power plants are considering to shut them down early. However, the nuclear reactors are indispensable for the security of electricity supply in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. “The Federal Government would then be in the highly embarrassing situation of having to ban the decommissioning of nuclear power plants,” said Stephan Kohler, head of the German Energy Agency. --Daniel Wetzel, Die Welt, 14 August 2013

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EU countries are likely to pare back support for renewable energy further after Spain’s recent proposed overhaul. Some countries have made sudden, retroactive cuts in returns on existing projects, rattling investors and developers. Even Spain appears vulnerable to further cuts, after repeated attempts to remove the state’s liability for energy sector subsidies as Fitch Ratings agency has reported. German plans to further limit renewable support are on hold pending a forthcoming election; in January, environment minister Peter Altmaier proposed to cap the renewable power charge on retail consumer bills this year and next. --Gerard Wynn, Reuters, 15 August 2013

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European Union rules to be published over the coming weeks could make it easier to justify using taxpayers' money to fund new nuclear power, which would pitch major EU powers against each other. The European Commission, the EU executive, says its mind is still open on the topic, but it is under pressure to set a legal framework for state aid to nuclear projects after several member states, including Britain, sought its guidance. The guidelines on environmental and energy aid for 2014-2020 are expected to be published around the end of September, after elections in Germany scheduled for September 22. --Barbara Lewis and Karolin Schaps, Reuters, 14 August 2013 Conservative and Labour MPs in Lancashire are joining forces to demand more money for their constituents in return for “fracking rights” after concluding that the current sweeteners being offered are not good enough. The MPs want more than the current offer of £100,000 of community benefits per well drilled and the proposed 1 per cent share of revenues generated when production starts. “This is just practical politics,” said Eric Ollerenshaw, Conservative MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood. “We are trying to get the best deal we can for our constituents from whatever political side we are on. We don’t want the crumbs off the table. We want to make sure we get something out of this for the long-term for Lancashire as a whole.” --Elizabeth Rigby and Jim Pickard, Financial Times, 15 August 2013 It was the US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan who once said: “You are entitled to your opinions, but not to your own facts.” In the debate over shale gas — I refuse to call it the fracking debate, as fracking has been happening in this country for decades — the opponents do seem to be astonishingly cavalier with the facts. --Matt Ridley, The Times 15 August 2013

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