June 25, 2012
Germany

RWE seeks German redress over wind farm delay – Spiegel

By Andreas Cremer | Reuters | www.reuters.com 24 June 2012

RWE AG, Germany’s second-biggest utility, is seeking compensation from the federal government as its offshore wind farm project faces “further massive delays,” Der Spiegel reported on Sunday, citing the company’s new CEO.

Efforts to link RWE’s so-called Nordsee Ost wind farm in northwestern Germany to the main electricity network keep running behind schedule, Peter Terium told the magazine in an interview, citing talks between RWE and grid operator Tennet. Terium will take the helm at RWE on July 1.

“This seriously jeopardises the profitability of the wind farm,” Terium told the magazine, urging the German government to enter talks with investors to discuss compensation and other measures to solve the problems.

“The German offshore plans won’t be attainable by the year 2020 if that doesn’t happen,” Terium told Der Spiegel.

Offshore wind farms are a key element of the German government’s plan to curb nuclear power in favour of renewable energies in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Renewable energies accounted for 20 percent of Germany’s overall electricity mix last year. The government has shut eight nuclear power plants permanently and aims to phase out nuclear power by 2022.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her weekly podcast published on Saturday, dismissed concerns that persistent problems in setting up transmission networks could undermine the government’s goals.

“I don’t see that danger,” Merkel said. “We have now created the legal basis, so that planning and implementation of those energy-transmission routes can be clearly accelerated.”

(Additional reporting by Thomas Seythal; Editing by Catherine Evans)

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/25/rwe-seeks-german-redress-over-wind-farm-delay-spiegel/