(New: Greenpeace response)
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Economics and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche is seeking a change of course for the energy transition. "The overall costs must come down," the CDU politician told the German Press Agency in Berlin. "In recent years, the political goal has been focused solely on expansion. However, the energy transition will only be successful if we consistently combine the expansion of renewables with cost efficiency. That must be the goal." In Reiche's view, operators of green electricity plants should contribute to the financing of the electricity grid expansion in the future.
"Reality check"
At the end of the summer, Reiche intends to present a "reality check" on the energy transition. "We urgently need more controllability in order to be able to balance out the volatility of electricity generation from renewable energies. Storage facilities also play a role in balancing the grid. They are part of the solution, but they are not enough on their own. We will take a close look at the results and then draw the necessary conclusions."
Reiche's predecessor, Robert Habeck (Green Party), had pushed ahead with various measures to expand green electricity, primarily from wind and solar power. Renewable energies are to play a key role in achieving climate targets. However, the expansion of the power grids is not keeping pace. Due to a lack of grids, renewable energy plants have to be throttled time and again. Compensatory measures to counter grid bottlenecks cost a lot of money. Thousands of new kilometers of power lines are to be laid to transport wind power, which is mainly produced in the north, to large consumption centers in the south. However, most of this has not yet been completed.
High costs
With a view to planned relief for electricity customers in terms of grid fees, which are used to finance grid expansion, among other things, the minister said: At the moment, costs are being shifted from electricity customers to public budgets and thus to taxpayers
in the order of around 30 billion euros. "We are not solving
solve the fundamental problem. The relief on the electricity tax, the abolition of the gas storage levy, the partial assumption of grid costs, and the assumption of the EEG costs that have already been shifted to the budget for some time now amount to around 30 billion euros." The energy transition must become more cost-efficient. "And that is possible."
Electricity consumption
A key indicator is the projected electricity consumption, said Reiche. "The last government assumed that electricity consumption would rise to as much as 750 terawatt hours by 2030, with forecasts of 1,000 terawatt hours by 2035." That would be an increase of almost 50 percent within a few years. "Serious studies doubt whether these increases are realistic. We will see a significant increase in electrification, especially in the areas of heat pumps, electromobility, and digitalization. Whether this will be on the scale assumed by the traffic light coalition is doubtful."
Operators of green electricity plants
The expansion of renewable energies and the expansion of the grid must be synchronized, said Reiche. Operators of renewable energy plants must take on more responsibility for the system. They should participate in financing the expansion of the grid.
"System responsibility means that the costs of grid expansion are no longer to be paid solely by grid operators and electricity customers via general grid fees," said Reiche. The costs of grid expansion have so far been borne entirely by the grid operator and paid for by electricity customers via grid fees.
The Federal Network Agency is responsible for reforming grid fees. A discussion paper also mentions broadening the financing base by involving "feeders" in the grid costs.
Distribution of costs
"We must achieve a fair distribution of responsibility," said Reiche. "We need renewables for decarbonization. We also need them because they are innovative technologies. But the risks and costs must not be passed on to customers alone. Renewables can and must take on more responsibility for the system. And that also means taking responsibility for the costs of the overall system and contributing to grid stability, controllability, and manageability."
Reiche went on to say: "The current system, which partially subsidizes renewable energies regardless of whether they feed into the grid or not, needs to be revised as quickly as possible from an economic perspective." The expansion path could then be maintained if responsibility for the system were assumed by the renewable energy sector.
Reiche: Climate targets very ambitious
The minister said she had expressly committed herself to the 2045 climate targets. "But the targets are very, very ambitious. Anyone who seriously engages with the issue will agree with that."
Germany is to be climate-neutral by 2045. Climate neutrality means that no more greenhouse gases are emitted than can be bound again.
Criticism from Greenpeace
"What Katherina Reiche is selling as a 'reality check' is in fact a relapse into the fossil fuel past and a well-known delaying tactic," said Karsten Smid, Greenpeace expert on climate and energy.Instead of pushing ahead with the expansion of renewable energies and enabling greater flexibility in the grid, she is slowing down the transformation and relying on patching up gas-fired power plants across the country."/hoe/DP/mis
