Up in arms over new German FITs
Proponents of renewables in Germany are not the only ones upset about the proposed changes – now, environmental protectionists have joined the fray.
Yesterday, the German cabinet adopted changes in the country's Renewable Energy Act (EEG), which specifies feed-in tariffs for renewables. In the special session, the governing coalition also officially resolved to phase out nuclear power by 2022 and keep eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors off-line.
But while there is widespread consensus about the future of nuclear across party lines in Germany, the proposals for renewables are meeting with great opposition.
Germany's Umwelthilfe, a prominent environmental protection organization, says that solar arrays should be eligible for feed-in tariffs within conservation zones because they do not endanger biodiversity, but can even actually promote it. The government plans to rule out solar in such zones and also restrict the definition of brownfields.
Hans-Josef Fell, a member of Parliament for the Greens and a co-author of the original EEG from 2000, points out that the new law, which could take effect on January 1, 2012, has a target of 35 percent renewable electricity for 2020 – the same as government's target when it extended nuclear plant commissions by an average of 14 years last fall.
The German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) says that a larger number of energy-intensive companies will be exempt from the full surcharge to cover feed-in tariffs; as a result, the charges will increasingly be concentrated on consumers. The BEE also criticizes the changes concerning bioenergy. For instance, cogeneration units will have to demonstrate that they use at least 60 percent of their waste heat, and if they cannot they will not be eligible for feed-in tariffs.
The German Hydropower Association says that the focus in the new policy will be on large systems, with the smallest systems simply no longer being profitable. Indeed, the size of categories for feed-in tariffs in various renewables are expected to be reduced, with the result systems that slip into the category with lower feed-in tariffs will receive less compensation. Flat bonuses for grid flexibility will also generally make large systems, which cost less per installed kilowatt, more profitable than small ones.
A growing number of industry insiders are also criticizing the pace at which the German coalition is making the changes. The German Wind Energy Association (BWE) says the fast rate of change simply cannot lead to a good result and assumes that the German government's speed indicates that "it is not interested in input from the affected industries or in intensive consultation in parliamentary proceedings."
And of course, the BWE is highly critical of the proposals to reduce feed-in tariffs for onshore wind, which is much cheaper than offshore wind power (Renewables International reported). German project developer juwi, which does business both in solar and wind and has international branches, even issued an ironic press release (in German) to announce that it would now be developing offshore solar farms "since the German government prefers offshore power." The firm jokes that it is talking to the German government now to ensure that feed-in tariffs for "offshore solar power will, like those for offshore wind power, be at least twice as high as for onshore." The company's executive director is quoted as saying, "We don't know what good that does, but we will certainly make a lot of money on it!"
The press release's ironic conclusion probably expresses the sentiment shared by many in the renewables sector: "Power consumers in Ingolstadt will probably wonder why they have to buy excessively expensive offshore electricity when there is so much space around Ingolstadt to produce much cheaper solar and wind power locally. But progress requires sacrifice."
The new rules are to have their first reading in the Bundestag on June 8 (tomorrow), with the second reading planned for June 30. On July 8, final consultation in the Bundesrat is expected. (Andreas Haude / cm)
