The torture is over, the traffic light coalition is history. The price for the government’s collapse is that a whole series of energy policy proposals are now on the brink of extinction – with potentially serious consequences for the stability of the power grids and security of supply. At the top of the cross-list is the reform of the Energy Industry Act. The 453 pages of the bill are about improvements that may sound technical and small-scale, but are urgently necessary in order to integrate more and more renewables into the system. In recent years, a record amount of photovoltaic capacity has been added due to the sharp fall in prices. Situations are now occurring more and more frequently in which more electricity is generated than is needed. This is increasingly endangering the power grids. It becomes particularly critical on sunny days at midday and on public holidays when industry requires little electricity. The result is negative electricity prices and heavily loaded lines. Warnings of power outages The problem here is less the large open-space systems on fields than the millions of small systems on private house roofs. You receive a fixed feed-in tariff and cannot be regulated. In other words: They have neither the technical requirements nor the financial incentives to react to the signals of the network or the market. In order to counteract this, the Federal Ministry of Economics wanted to force significantly more operators of solar systems to market their electricity directly on the stock exchange. In addition, small systems should be better able to react to price signals instead of feeding in uncontrolled. New solar systems should no longer receive compensation if there is a surplus of electricity in the network and the construction of storage systems should be simplified. All of this should stabilize the increasingly overwhelmed distribution networks – actually. The first companies are now already outlining scenarios according to which there is a risk of power outages at Easter or Pentecost in some regions of Germany due to the unstable networks. Such pessimism may be exaggerated. But at the latest when Netzagentur boss Klaus Müller – a man who is actually obliged to exercise restraint by virtue of his position – first in the F.A.Z., then in the F.A.S. If you are emphatically calling for a quick agreement between the remaining government and the opposition, you have to listen up. Probably not an early phase-out of coal. However, it is not only the stability of the electricity grids that is at risk, but also the security of supply in the medium term. Because the tender for the urgently needed new gas power plants has probably been put on hold for the time being with the traffic lights being switched off. They should be able to supply electricity flexibly on dark, windless days from 2030 at the latest. More on the topic The rapid construction of at least 25 power plants would not only be important for maintaining a secure supply, but also for the climate. Although renewables now cover 58 percent of electricity consumption, climate-damaging coal is still an important pillar of German electricity generation. For every kilowatt hour of electricity produced in Germany, an average of almost 400 grams of CO2 is emitted in Germany – more than in many other European countries. The original schedule for the construction of new gas power plants to replace coal was already very ambitious. With the traffic light off, the dream of an early coal phase-out has finally shattered. Union frighteningly vague The renewed delay is particularly tragic because the Union, in the opposition, is also vehemently calling for gas-fired power plants. This also applies to the draft law, which is intended to pave the way for the capture and underground storage of carbon dioxide (CCS). For industries such as the cement or lime industry, CCS technology is currently the only way to advance climate protection. However, without a legal basis, its hands are tied. It remains unclear how strong the next, presumably Union-led federal government’s course correction in energy policy will be. Unlike the FDP, the CDU and CSU are clearly committed to the 2045 climate target. In addition, the recently presented “energy agenda” remains shockingly vague in many points. Like the traffic light, the Union promises a reduction in electricity taxes and network fees as well as the introduction of a climate bonus to compensate for rising CO2 prices. All sensible measures – but they also require a financial foundation.
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