The 28 EU energy ministers met in Vilnius on 19 September in order to discuss current European energy policy issues. The agenda included the EU's external energy relations, measures to complete the internal energy market and the Green Paper submitted by the Commission in March 2013 on a 2030 EU framework for energy and climate policies. At the heart of the discussion on the Green Paper were the results of the public consultation on it
In the view of the German Federal Ministry of Economics, it should be carefully reviewed how targets and instruments in EU energy and climate policy could be purposefully designed and shaped. In addition to challenges posed by climate policy, the competitiveness of the European economy and a secure energy supply should be given greater attention.
With regard to the internal European energy market, priority should be placed on the resolute use and adoption of EU internal market rules and competition regulations. The next important step is pan-EU electricity market coupling, as has already been achieved in parts of Western Europe. In addition, according to the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, reliable framework conditions are needed for investment in energy infrastructures.
The Commission intends to submit specific proposals for the next steps at the end of this year
The State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) launched the German-South African Energy Partnership together with the South African Deputy Minister for Energy Barbara Thompson on the eighth of August. The occasion was the first session of the high-level working group of the Energy Partnership in Pretoria, which in addition to representatives from the German Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) was also attended by representatives of other ministries, the Southern African-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the KfW and a business delegation.
Focal topics for the Partnership include an expansion of renewable energies and electricity grids, energy efficiency and energy research. Cooperation is furthermore to take place in the area of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The Energy Partnership builds on existing agreements between the German Federal Government and South Africa in the energy area, with a special focus on fostering private economic activities and initiative. It is being headed by a high-level working group at government level. The actual co-operation is to take place in topical working groups, in which representatives of government and industry from
both sides can take part
The German Federal Minister of Economics received his Norwegian colleague Ola Borten Moe in Berlin for talks at the beginning of August. German-Norwegian co-operation in the energy field as well as current energy-policy developments in the two countries and the EU were discussed. The talks above all focused on planning and construction of the first undersea cable interconnecting Norway and Germany and the role played by Norwegian gas in the security of Germany's gas supply.
Both ministers underscored the excellent co-operation between the two countries, especially in the gas and oil sector. It is the objective of the German Federal government to co-operate with Norway with regard to the electricity power supply on a long-term basis. This is in particular to involve the use of Norwegian storage capacities. The precondition for this is the creation of adequate power line capacities
Accounting for approximately 25 per cent of German gas imports, Norway was Germany's second most important gas supplier following Russia in 2012. Around 24 per cent of Norway's gas exports go to Germany. Norway is the world's sixth largest gas exporter and intends to further expand its delivery capabilities by exploiting gas deposits in the Barents Sea
In August, the German Federal Minister of Economics issued the first Federal Energy Research Report, in which the German Federal government informs the public about funding policy and developments in the promotion of new energy technologies. According to the report, expenditures on research and development of modern energy technologies surged 77 per cent, from EUR 399 million to EUR 708 million, over the period 2006 to 2012
In the promotion of research, more attention has been focused on greater energy efficiency and renewable energies. New points of emphasis have been set in the energy research programme, for instance in the guise of the research initiative on "energy storage"
In addition to the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the German Ministries for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and of Education and Research were involved
Greater financial resources were devoted to the key topics of energy efficiency and renewable energies, climbing to over 70 per cent of total investment in 2012 to reach EUR 500 million
The EU Member States are supposed to equip 80 per cent of all households with smart metering systems for electricity by 2022. Serving as the basis for this are provisions emanating from the third internal market package and recommendations by the EU Commission. As an alternative, the member countries are free to conduct cost-benefit analyses and adopt an individual strategy. It was for this reason that the German Federal Ministry of Economics commissioned a study that has come to the conclusion that the EU scenario is not recommendable for Germany. The study shows that, especially among end consumers with low annual energy use, the costs of a smart metering system significantly exceed the possible annual energy savings that can be attained. An obligation to install such systems would thus be disproportionate and unreasonable in economic terms.
The experts also underscored the special efforts made in Germany to ensure data privacy and data security. These are crucial factors if smart metering is to be accepted in Germany.
Associations and consumer representatives now have the possibility to discuss the study with the experts via the network platform working group for "Smart Grids and Meters"
The northern Frisian Island of Pellworm has been the stage for energy research since the 1980s. The biggest solar park in Europe was built there in 1983 and Europe's biggest hybrid power plant in 1989. A smart electricity grid is now to make the island autonomous in terms of its power needs.
The island produces three times as much electrical power as it uses every year. In spite of this, the inhabitants are dependent on supplies of electrical power from the mainland grid. The island is now to meet its own electrical needs with a combination of wind power, photovoltaic and biogas systems with large storage facilities, household storage units and smart metering technology.
Eon and Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG have built a storage system and interconnected power hook-ups to wind power and photovoltaic systems on the island. When too much power is produced, it flows into a large storage system with lithium-ion and Redox flow batteries as well as into decentralised household storage units. When the wind is not blowing and the sky is overcast, inhabitants draw on power from these batteries. Controllable local grid transformers, special power electronics and an energy-management system have been integrated into the power grid to better steer energy flows
The lighthouse project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment with almost EUR ten million within the framework of the Energy Storage Research Initiative
Scholars at Christian Albrechts University of Kiel are studying the geo-scientific foundations of underground energy storage in the ANGUS+ joint project. In the first step, computer scenarios are being laid down to serve as a calculation basis. Thermal ground properties are then to be explored and a geochemical understanding of the ground attained with the aid of experimental work on site. By the same token, analyses are concentrating on the storage of natural and artificial gas, hydrogen and compressed air in caverns and pores as well as the underground storage of heat near the surface.
The possible impact of these options is moreover to be linked up to surface infrastructure already existing and the earmarked areas of protection and priority. ANGUS+ is one of the lighthouse projects that is being funded with about EUR 7.5 million within the framework of the German Federal Government's "Energy Storage Funding Initiative"
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