DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Falling gas costs, rising carbon prices spur change in fuel dynamics
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Falling gas prices over recent weeks have paired with rising coal and carbon costs to make European power generation from gas-fired power plants more economical, marking a trend reversal since coal took over as the cheaper fuel source last year. The clean-dark and clean-spark spreads are the prices paid for the operation of a coal- or gas-fired power plant respectively, when adjusted for mandatory carbon emissions permits and fuel purchases. However, the gas price would need to fall a bit more to replace more efficient coal plants, she added. Germany and other European countries relied heavily on both coal and gas power during the energy crisis last year, with coal's share of the power generation mix rebounding after mostly falling over the previous decade. The Dutch benchmark wholesale gas contract slipped to a new 17-month low on healthy supply earlier, while European carbon allowances (EUA) reached a record high over 100 euros per tonne.

SummarySummary Companies Ministry plans for low-carbon power systemAims for 80% green power in 2030Will prepare tenders to attract stable capacityFRANKFURT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Germany will do most of the work this year to prepare its power market for greater reliance on renewable supplies by the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "We will do most of the necessary work in 2023," he said at a consultation meeting on power market reform. To back up swings in green power as more reliable nuclear and coal production is phased out, the government will prepare tenders for gas-fired power capacity, Habeck said. A further challenge will be the simultaneous increase in demand for power to run electric cars and heat pumps. Germany's plan could set it apart from some other European Union countries holding on to more stable sources of power, said Habeck.

☆ Germany to speed up power market reform in 2023, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Germany will do most of the work this year to prepare its power market for greater reliance on renewable supplies by the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "We will do most of the necessary work in 2023," he said at a consultation meeting on power market reform. To back up swings in green power as more reliable nuclear and coal production is phased out, the government will prepare tenders for gas-fired power capacity, Habeck said. Habeck said the government was working on the assumption that national power usage would reach 700-750 TWh by the end of the decade. Germany's plan may set it apart from some other European Union countries that may hold on to more stable sources of power, said Habeck.

☆ TenneT, Germany's sonnen harness EV batteries to stabilise power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 15 (Reuters) - German solar firm sonnen said on Wednesday it has successfully stored excess grid power in electric car batteries owned by its customers to help stabilise power networks operated by Dutch company TenneT (IPO-TTH.AS), and will expand the business model. Sonnen supplies owners of photovoltaic (PV) installations for generating electricity from rooftop solar panels with storage batteries, to release power to the home when needed and to reduce purchases from the national grid. It introduced a digital "community" for buyers of its residential batteries in 2015 who share home batteries which were aggregated into a virtual power plant (VPP) in 2019. The project with TenneT, which operates 14,000 kms(8,699 miles) of high-voltage grids in Germany, extends to EV batteries as another storage medium, sonnen said in a statement. "Integrating electric cars into the power grid is an important milestone towards responding to the challenges of future power availability," said TenneT chief operation officer Tim Meyerjuergens.

☆ Germany's Scholz: Putin has not threatened me or Germany - Bild
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin in his telephone conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz "has not made any threats against me or Germany," Scholz said in an interview with Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Scholz said the conversations he had with Putin made it clear they had very different views of the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a "special military operation." "I make it very clear to Putin that Russia has sole responsibility for the war," Scholz said. "Russia has invaded its neighbour for no reason, in order to take parts of Ukraine or the whole country under its control," Scholz said. Putin casts the military operation in Ukraine as a fight to "disarm" his neighbour, a fellow former Soviet republic, and defend Russia against an aggressive West.

BERLIN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck has called for cooperation in green investments between Europe and the United States ahead of meetings in Washington next week with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials. "The USA is now gearing its economy towards green markets and driving forward cost reductions in the development of climate-friendly technologies," Habeck said. EU governments are worried the IRA could not only put European producers at an unfair disadvantage but lure investment away from Europe to the United States. They are likely to want to explore exceptions when the United States implements the plans. The talks will be focused on the U.S. subsidy package in the context of future trade relations between the EU and the United States.

☆ Germany's DFL presses on with deal for media rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Germany's soccer governing body is pressing on with plans to sell parts of the Bundesliga media rights for the country's first and second leagues to private investors, the Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL) said in a media release on Friday. Valuing the business at between 17 and 20 billion euros, the transaction could bring in 2.5-3 billion euros ($2.70-3.24 billion), Bild said. It stressed it was not about a sale of shares in the Bundesliga but a temporary minority interest in license revenue from the media rights. A spokesperson for DFL, contacted on Saturday about the Bild report, said there was no new comment beyond the Friday night press release. The rights, according to the Bild report, would be granted for 25 to 30 years, with the 36 clubs retaining control.

☆ 'Party is over': Hapag Lloyd CEO says freight rates to keep declining
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAMBURG, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Container freight rates will keep declining in the current realignment of shipping demand and supply, said the chief executive of Germany's liner Hapag Lloyd (HLAG.DE), the world's number five by transport capacity. "Now we have to fight for every box again to get our ships full," he said. However, he expects freight rates will not fall below costs, which were being kept high by expensive charter rates, high fuel costs and the need to adjust fleets to running on low carbon fuel. Ship docking and scrapping was increasing this year after a period when ship owners kept old vessels running to meet high demand, he said. At the same time, Hapag Lloyd expects to receive a series of new ships it ordered in recent years, including some giant 23,600 twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels.

☆ Germany publishes plans to hit 30 GW offshore wind target in 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Germany on Friday said it has drawn up new development plans for offshore wind turbine sites to reach a target for 30 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind power capacity by 2030. When the current government took power in late 2021, its coalition agreement stipulated 30 GW wind power, adding 10 GW to previous plans. Germany aims to derive 80% of its power from clean sources by 2030, compared with just under half in 2022. To speed up development of the offshore sites and override other uses, offshore wind has been declared to be of high public interest, and measures to create links to onshore electricity networks have been accelerated. Because offshore wind can be turned into clean hydrogen via electrolysis plants, plans for a North Sea-originating pipeline to carry 1 GW hydrogen were also integrated.

☆ Nord Stream 2 German subsidiary wound up -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The German subsidiary of the consortium behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been wound up, German news portal T-Online reported on Friday citing trade registry documents. Nord Stream 2 would have doubled Russia's gas export capacity to Germany via the Baltic Sea but Germany withheld permission to operate after Moscow's sent troops into Ukraine last February. "It has no information about a dissolution of the company," the spokesperson said, but noted a provisional debt restructuring moratorium granted to Nord Stream 2 AG, the company's Switzerland-based parent, had been extended until January 10. Nord Stream 2 was not immediately available for comment. As-yet unexplained explosions occurred on the parallel Nord Stream 1 pipeline and on one line of the twin-piped Nord Stream 2 in Swedish and Danish waters in September 2022.

Below are answers to the most urgent questions:HOW HAS GERMANY RESPONDED TO THE LOSS OF RUSSIAN GAS? Germany launched a multi-layered strategy to reign in demand and source alternatives following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent decline in gas deliveries. Germany is now getting more pipeline gas from neighbouring Europe and Norway, buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) via existing European terminals, and constructing new LNG terminals on German coastlines, as well as achieving gas savings. Gas stocks are 89% full, enough to get Germany to the end of March even in a prolonged cold spell, according to most recent statistics, before re-filling starts in the April to September storage season. As a rule of thumb, Germany depletes its stocks by a rate of around 1% per day if temperatures fall below zero degrees, the regulator has said.

☆ Germany's gas situation is secure this winter, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal HanschkeBERLIN, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Germany's gas supply situation is secure and gas shortage is unlikely to happen this winter, the head of the country's network regulator said on Tuesday. "With savings, gas inflows, good storage levels ... We are very, very optimistic that we will no longer have to worry about a gas shortage this winter," Klaus Mueller said at an energy summit organised by Handelsblatt newspaper. Mueller said he expected a relatively warm winter which will help the power supply situation in both France and Germany. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uniper CEO: Nord Stream can be fixed, but unclear if Germany wants Russian gas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Uniper SE FollowGazprom PAO FollowFRANKFURT, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The damaged Nord Stream pipelines can be fixed in around six months to a year, the boss of bailed out German gas trader Uniper said on Tuesday, adding that it still remained unclear whether Germany wants the supply relationship to continue. "The first question that needs answering: what's the political will on a European level and in Berlin to bring Russian gas to Germany?" outgoing Uniper (UN01.DE) CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach told the annual Handelsblatt Energy summit. Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert; editing by Matthias WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We have the ambition to become a profitable company in 2023," Laege said, adding the group had also secured long-term regasification capacity at the planned Hanseatic Energy Hub terminal in Stade, Germany. Laege said that Sefe, formerly called Gazprom Germania, was successful in sourcing LNG mainly from the United States, both short-term deals and for longer periods. The company, whose name is short for Securing Energy for Europe, had already unloaded a first cargo at Dunkirk, he said. However, next winter and beyond could be tight again if cold periods and a fast recovery of Asian LNG demand coincide. Reporting by Vera Eckert, Christoph Steitz, Tom Kaeckenhoff, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wintershall Dea urges Germany to clear CO2 exports for storage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 16 (Reuters) - German oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea (WINT.UL) (BASFn.DE) urged Berlin on Monday to clear exports of carbon dioxide to European neighbours that would be buried in so-called carbon capture and storage facilities (CCS). Wintershall is involved in various CCS projects, including in Norway and Denmark, which aim to store CO2 in depleted oil and gas fields. The early capture of CO2 emissions in the production process and their subsequent storage could help achieve climate targets and provide a new area of activity for hydrocarbon exploration companies. Unavoidable residual emissions in Germany currently amount to well over 40 million tonnes per year from industries such as chemicals and cement, Langemann said. Wintershall Dea plans to build up a business capturing 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per annum by 2040.

☆ German hard coal importers able to replace Russian supply -industry body
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Traders have found new focal points: United States, South Africa and Colombia," industry association VDKi said in a statement. Between January and October 2022 Russia still accounted for a leading 34% of hard coal volumes imported by Germany, data presented by VDKi showed. That reflected Russia's role as a major supplier before the EU introduced a ban on Russian coal imports last August amid sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hard coal imports into Germany last year amounted to 43 million tonnes, 4.7% more than recorded in 2021, preliminary VDKi data also showed. Out of the total, 30 million tonnes were steam coal for electricity plants, up 11.7% year-on-year, and 11 million tonnes were coking coal for steelmaking, down 7.3%.

☆ German regulator identifies 5,000 km to aid green power switch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The natural regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur has planning authority over a total of 7,300 km of grid. It reports to the economy ministry, which shares the goal of increasing the use of renewable energy and distributing wind energy, concentrated in Germany's north, and solar energy from the south. "The renewable energy generated in the north of the country must be transported," Klaus Mueller, the authority's president, said in a statement. Germany plans a total 14,000 km of high voltage grids, responsibility for which would be shared between the central regulator and state level authorities in co-operation with four transmission grid companies (TSOs). Since the Green Party gained prominence as part of the coalition government installed in late 2021, Berlin has accelerated planning and approval procedures to ease the take-up of renewable power.

☆ German 2022 gas imports dropped 12.3%, Norway helped replace Russia - regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Norway took over from Russia as the number one supplier, accounting for 33% of the total volume, with Russia supplying 22%, the regulator said in a statement. "The missing gas shipments from Russia were partly compensated by additional imports, among other origins, via the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway," the statement said. Reuters GraphicsThe Berlin government has also rushed through provisions for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to arrive on board ships to plug gaps. Total German gas exports amounted to 501 TWh, down by a third from 749 TWh a year earlier. Germany's gas storage levels currently stand at a comfortable 90.72%, way above the 40% threshold that the regulator deems critical at the start of February.

☆ Germany backs Norwegian plan to capture carbon from cement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Habeck's visit to the Norcem cement plant in Brevik, Norway, represents a shift in German policy back towards efforts to deal with planet-warming emissions by capturing them and making use (CCSU) of them in industrial processes. Projects have repeatedly stalled on issues of cost and environmental opposition as campaigners have been concerned carbon capture and storage can serve to prolong the use of fossil fuels. As cement-making inevitably emits carbon, its capture is necessary to mitigate pollution, and the Norwegian plant is meant to serve as a global blueprint, eventually capturing 400,000 tonnes of CO2 - half its emissions - per year. Germany aims to cut 65% of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 and to become carbon-neutral by 2045. During Habeck's visit, Norwegian state-controlled oil firm Equinor (EQNR.OL) and German utility RWE said separately they planned to develop a supply chain for low-carbon hydrogen.

FRANKFURT, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Germany exported more electricity to its neighbours than it imported in 2022, even with an energy crisis at home, thanks to more more weather-driven renewable power and greater demand from France. The trade figures show that Germany's neighbours remain dependent on surplus power from Europe's biggest economy if their own generation supplies fall short. In detail, German power imports in 2022 totalled 51 TWh, 2.6% down from 2021, while exports rose 7.3% year-on-year to 78.5 TWh, giving a net export surplus. France, Switzerland and Austria increased energy imports from Germany year-on-year, as did the Czech Republic, Belgium and Norway. Volumes originating in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, among others, fell last year.

☆ Uniper says working with UAE's Masdar on hydrogen project
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Dec 22 (Reuters) - German utility Uniper (UN01.DE) on Thursday said it was involved in a project with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) clean energy company Masdar to produce green hydrogen, confirming a report on Bloomberg. A spokesperson for the Duesseldorf-based firm said Uniper is actively involved in large-scale hydrogen projects in the Middle East, with a view to exporting hydrogen to Europe and Asian markets. "The project in UAE with MASDAR has already seen impressive public support," the spokesperson said, adding Uniper declined to provide further detail at this stage. The Bloomberg report said that Masdar and Uniper will build a 1.3 gigawatt (GW) solar plant from which they expect to produce clean hydrogen via electrolysis from 2026, citing an interview with Masdar's executive director for clean energy, Mohammad Abdelqadar El Ramahi. ($1 = 0.9439 euros)Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Rachel More and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Coal has made a comeback in Germany this year, as Europe's largest economy turns to the dirty fuel to power it through an energy crisis. Gas generation rose slightly, despite high prices, as wind and hydro power output were low, and domestic nuclear output also fell in July-Sept. This has increased coal power generation in the European Union, which is expected to remain at these higher levels for some time," the IEA's annual coal market report said. This includes 1.9 GW of lignite and 4.3 GW of hard coal power plants which are allowed to return to the market until 2024, the IEA report said. The decommissioning of 2.6 GW of hard coal power capacity and 1.2 GW of lignite capacity has been postponed.

☆ Factbox: Germany's energy prices bill - what are the details?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Here are some details of legislation passed by Germany's lower house of parliament on Thursday to cap gas and power prices for consumers up to April 2024 and in return tax utility profits deemed to be excessive. POWER PRICE BRAKEA brake on power prices will be implemented in March but applied retroactively to January and February, capping 80% of the previous year's bill at 40 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). GAS PRICESA brake on gas prices is also backdated and caps the equivalent of 80% of the prior year bill at 12 cents per kWh. The argument is they benefitted from higher revenues inadvertently due to spillover especially from gas prices, since gas plants' costs act as wholesale market price setters. The final version bore account of the need to avoid hurting new investments and upsetting wholesale market dynamics.

Lignite contains several times more sulphur and ash, and five times more mercury, than black coal, and provides three times less energy. It also loosened restrictions on selling coal waste, which can be highly polluting, taking Poland back to the days before 2018, when the rules for coal were tightened to fight smog. In September, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski even told residents of Nowy Targ, the town with the lowest air quality in Poland in 2020, to burn pretty much whatever they wanted. Smog has been intense over the past days and we have a lot of children in need of intensive treatment," she said. COAL RUSHAbout 80% of the coal used by European Union citizens to heat homes is burned in Poland.

☆ German regulator: gas stocks below 40% on Feb. 1 would be critical
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Germany's energy regulator chief Klaus Mueller on Friday said a filling level below 40% of the country's underground storage caverns would be considered a critical indicator making mitigating measures necessary to ensure gas supply in winter. Currently, German inventories are 99% full, in excess of a Nov. 1 target for 95%, as Europe's leading economy has managed to offset a sizeable amount of delivery shortfalls after the near decline of Russian exports. "Tense we would say is between 40% and 55% by the first of February, and should we be below that, this indicator would jump to critical," said Mueller, speaking to reporters in a web-cast press conference. Reporting by Vera Eckert and Christoph Steitz, editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Vera Eckert"

25 mentions found