Dispute among the Renewables
High solar energy costs are angering the wind industry.
There is no love lost between the solar and wind industries any more. The undamped photovoltaic development in Germany is driving the subsidy costs to be paid by the consumer in 2011 to unforeseen heights. Wind energy, the cheapest renewable source, is afraid of unjustified criticism – and threatening to pull out of the Renewable Coalition.
View photo gallery
Photo gallery to the topic Dispute among the Renewables
Picture 1
show photos
In the clinch: solar and wind energy would complement each other very well here in the Energiepark Moorbach. However, the friendship of the two industries is now threatening to shatter due to the costs.
(Photo: Juwi)
Picture 2
show photos
Run on the roofs: Thanks to the generous subsidies, many German solar installations have been installed this year.
(Photo: BP Solar)
Picture 3
show photos
Blooming landscapes: Photovoltaics have gained the upper hand, especially in some regions of Bavaria. The picture shows the Solarpark Pocking.
(Photo: Martin Bucher)
www.martin-bucher.de
Picture 4
show photos
Expensive network: The electricity system in Germany must be upgraded for renewable energies. The costs are being paid by the consumer.
(Photo: BWE)
A vision still unifies the bioenergy, solar, water and wind industries: Germany should be supplied completely with energy from renewable energy sources by 2050. However, the shared aim is in danger as the wind industry is heading on course for confrontation with the photovoltaics industry (PV): The Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE) recently issued the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW) with an ultimate request to explain how the solar subsidy costs, which are getting out of hand, can be limited. Wind energy lobbyists have explained that if the BSW does not quickly present suggestions, then the wind industry will publicly distance itself from the photovoltaic industry – and consequently demolish the Coalition of Renewable Energies in Germany. This would be a triumph for the four major energy corporations, Eon, RWE, Vattenfall and EnBW, which have always branded regenerative energies as uneconomical.
The reason for the anger of the wind millers: According to the latest prognoses, the costs for renewable energies in 2011 will dramatically increase by seven to up to 15 billion Euros. According to this, the so-called levy for the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG – Renewable Energy Law), which is paid by every energy customer with their bill, will double from two to four cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in the coming year. This means: This year, the eco-contribution will cost the average consumer about 85 Euro inclusive of VAT; in the coming year, the cost will rise by another 85 to 170 Euros. Accordingly, the energy costs will also increase. And there are additional costs ahead for energy customers, of which no-one has conceived an idea as yet: In order to transport the growing quantities of eco-energy, part of the networks must be converted. “This alone will cost 40 billion Euros by 2020”, says energy expert Holger Krawinkel from the Federation of German Consumer Organisations.
