Is Germany abandoning wind, solar and bioenergy?

[kristopher]

This is an excellent summary of the policy battle being waged over energy in Germany between the progressive populace and the Conservative government trying to preserve the coal and nuclear industries.

Is Germany abandoning wind, solar and bioenergy?

As has been reported in Climate Spectator over the last two weeks, including a column from Gerard Wynn on Thursday, Germany’s environment minister Peter Altmaier and economy minister Philipp Rösler have been keen to reign-in feed-in tariff support for renewable energy in Germany (commonly referred to as the ‘EEG’).

Altmaier went as far as to claim last week that the policy would cost Germans €1 trillion by 2030. He proposes to cap increases in subsidies for renewable power at 2.5 per cent growth per annum, and suspend feed-in tariffs to new installations. In addition, in a highly concerning move for investor confidence, he proposed a temporary cut in the feed-in tariff already received by existing renewable energy power plants.

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This initiative from Altmaier and Rösler to undermine the EEG doesn’t represent some sudden about-face realisation amongst the German population of the inadequacies of renewable energy. Rather Altmaier and Rösler are part of the conservative-right wing side of German politics that has always been opposed to the EEG initiative ever since it became law in 2000.

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Since forming government in 2009 this right-wing coalition has made three attempts at stemming the growth of renewable, which have largely failed.

In 2010 they rewound the prior policy of phasing out nuclear power while putting in steeper reductions in feed-in tariff rates. But plunging costs for solar PV in particular meant it grew spectacularly in spite of the cut in tariffs. Then, not long after the Fukishima nuclear plant explosion occurred, Chancellor Merkel had to revert back to an accelerated phase-out of nuclear while re-embracing renewables.

But in 2012 Altmaier’s predecessor...

http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/germany-abandoning-wind-solar-and-bioenergy

[DonCoquixote]

1. Hey Germany

You gained prosperity because, as Mike Moore put it, you were taken over at the end of world war II and forced to adapt sane policies about labor. Now that you are cock of the Euro walk, it seems you want to return to bad habits. I would warn you, if you start acting like a fourth reich, bossing around the greeces and other countries, you may get yet another rebuke, and this time you might not be allowed to get back up.

[Yo_Mama]

2. No, not at all, nor will it. n/t