September 27, 2013 -- Updated 1313 GMT (2113 HKT)
As Germany's switchover from nuclear power to renewable energy gathers
pace, concerns are mounting over the cost to country's prosperity and
its already squeezed consumers. FULL STORY
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September 27, 2013 -- Updated 1210 GMT (2010 HKT)
Supplying Germany with cheap, clean energy
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to permanently shut down the country's 17 nuclear reactors by 2022
- The government is investing heavily in wind farms and solar technology to reduce carbon emissions
- Renewable power to contribute 35% of the country's electricity consumption by 2020 and 80% by 2050
Politicians in Europe's
largest economy want renewable power to contribute 35% of the country's
electricity consumption by 2020 and 80% by 2050 as part of its clean
energy drive.
The country's
"energiewende" -- translated as energy transformation -- is part of the
government's plan to move away from nuclear power and fossil fuels to
renewable energy sources, following Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Michael Limburg,
vice-president of the European Institute for Climate and Energy, told
CNN that the government's energy targets are "completely unfeasible."
"Of course, it's possible
to erect tens of thousands of windmills but only at an extreme cost and
waste of natural space," he said. "And still it would not be able to
deliver electricity when it is needed."
The government is investing heavily in onshore and offshore wind farms and solar technology in an effort to reduce 40% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Last year Chancellor Angela Merkel, who this week won her third term as Germany's leader, proposed to construct offshore wind farms in the North Sea, a plan that would cost 200 billion euros ($270 billion), according to the DIW economic institute in Berlin.
As part of the energy
drive, Merkel also pledged to permanently shut down the country's 17
nuclear reactors, which fuel 18% of the country's power needs. Under
Germany's Atomic Energy Act, the last nuclear power plant will be
disconnected by 2022.
Limburg told CNN the
rapid transition to renewables is economically "insane," arguing that
wind farms will cost at least 13 times more than traditional coal
plants.
What Merkel's win means for businesses?
He added: "Offshore wind
is somewhat better in performance, cost and usability but still you
have to spend six times as much as what you have to spend for a
conventional power plant."
Coalition building in Germany
Paying the cost of renewable energy
Victory for Merkel, but what's next?
Germans are already facing some of the highest energy bills in Europe.
According to the Institute for Energy Research,
this year German electricity rates will increase by over 10% due to a
surcharge for using more renewable energy and a further 30 to 50% price
increase is expected in the next ten years.
Blackouts are another problem facing Germany's energy industry.
With the bulk of wind
turbines located in the east of the country, regional electricity grids
face the threat of overloading, while the reliability of regular wind
and solar power in northern Europe is also a concern.
Claudia Kemfert,
professor of energy economics at the German Institute for Economic
Research, told CNN Germany's continued use of coal and fossil fuels to
power its industrial hubs is making investors nervous.
She said: "Politicians
give the wrong signals. They say 'well, on the one hand, we would like
to have the energy transition, on the other hand...' what they do or
what they propose is the opposite."
But Kemfert added that
Germany is not in danger of an energy crisis and that a boom in
renewables will have long term economic advantages.
She said: "North (Sea)
wind farms can provide 25% of electricity production. Onshore wind could
produce a higher share. Offshore wind energy is important for North
Germany as already a lot of jobs have been created."
Germany is one of six European countries to invest in wind farms including the UK, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium.
And Stefan Bourgeois,
head of regulatory affairs at the European Wind Energy Association, told
CNN the sooner the continent moves away from "dirty fuels," such as
coal, the better.
He said: "The costs of
offshore are ahead of us, that is true... but the quicker everyone goes
offshore the quicker the economies of scale and the costs come down."
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