October 15, 2015
Germany

German wind blamed for price rise

reNEWS | 15/10/2015 | renews.biz

German consumers will have to pay 3% more for electricity after the German government introduced a higher surcharge.

The move has prompted a flurry of criticism from consumer groups, industry, and conservative policymakers who have blamed offshore wind for the rise.

The association of Germany’s consumer groups has urged the government to focus on onshore wind expansion.

Installed capacity will rise in 2016 taking the surcharge to €0.06354 per kwh of electricity consumed in 2016, up from €0.0617 in 2015, Germany’s four transmission system operators said in a statement.

Germany’s renewable power installations expect to produce 176TWh of green electricity in 2016, up from 161TWh in 2015.

The bulk of the surcharge is made up of €0.026 per KWh for PV, €0.02 for on- and offshore wind and €0.017 for biomass.

Just a small percentage of the overall payments expected by TSO’s in 2016 will be for new renewable installations, the majority covers older projects. New grid-connected offshore wind farms will pay the highest share for new installations.

VDMA Power Systems’ spokesman Matthias Zelinger said: “We’ve come far in this respect in the onshore wind and hydro power sectors. In offshore wind energy, a progressing industrialisation will have the same effect in terms of prices if there are sufficient volumes.”

The Christian Democratic Union said the expansion in onshore wind was too quick and the reason for the increase. They want legislation introduced to limit renewables expansion.

The Confederation of the German Textile and Fashion Industry called the renewables support scheme a “cost monster” and want to see an overhaul of the system. They think tax payers should pay for renewables, not just electricity consumers.

However, Green Party representative Julia Verlinden said the reason for the rise in the surcharge was that wholesale electricity prices have fallen because the market had been flooded with cheap power from coal-fired plants.

The surcharge is paid to renewables producers to make up for the difference between wholesale prices and guaranteed feed-in tariffs.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/10/15/german-wind-blamed-for-price-rise/