The Local Germany

'No longer pushing the burden into future': German govt approves more ambitious climate targets

Wed, 12 May 2021 17:16:48 +0200

The German government on Wednesday approved a new law setting more ambitious targets to reduce CO2 emissions, after the country's top court declared a flagship climate law "insufficient".

Germany opens Baltic Sea's largest wind park

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:43:39 +0200

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday officially opened a massive wind farm in the Baltic Sea, calling it a project of "national significance" for Germany's "energy transition" towards renewables.

Germany 'pledges to double renewable power by 2030'

Tue, 08 Nov 2016 17:42:55 +0100

After months of conflict within Germany's coalition government, a deal was reached on climate protection measures on Monday. But the opposition has called it unambitious.

Renewables costing German households ever more cash

Fri, 14 Oct 2016 18:52:12 +0200

Renewable energy companies have hiked up the prices consumers have to bear to cover their costs, leading to accusations the country's "energy transition" is running out of control.

Wind-powered lamps to light German island's streets

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:11:11 +0200

The island of Juist off Germany's North Sea coast is testing out a new idea for alternative energy: self-sufficient wind-powered street lamps, which could be a model even for developing countries.

German offshore wind power breaks records

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 17:07:58 +0200

The amount of new offshore wind energy put on the grid in Germany in the first six months of 2015 has broken all previous annual records for Europe combined, a report released on Thursday shows.

Energy giants feel pain of a changing market

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:22:15 +0100

Germany's two largest energy generators, E.ON and RWE, are battling to stay in the black as the Energiewende (transition to green energy) has left them out in the cold.

Village banks on wind, sun and pig manure

Sun, 26 Oct 2014 10:41:00 +0100

If Germany has taken a pioneering though risky role in shifting to renewable energy, then the tiny village of Feldheim - population 150 - is at its vanguard.

Lawmakers cut green energy subsidies

Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:18:00 +0200

German lawmakers agreed to cut renewable energy subsidies on Friday as the government seeks to keep its green "energy transformation" on track and curb rising prices.

Germany produces half of energy with solar

Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:54:00 +0200

Germany produced a record 50 percent of its electricity needs through solar panel at the start of June, breaking a huge milestone on its march to renewable energy.

Energy efficiency boosts German tech exports

Sun, 13 Apr 2014 11:53:00 +0200

An often-ignored aspect of Germany's green energy transition is the one that has most helped its export industry; energy efficiency, the new hallmark of the country's high-tech sector.

Green light for renewable energy switch reform

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 16:36:00 +0200

The German government approved on Tuesday a sweeping reform of a law on its vaunted "energy transformation" to reduce subsidies for renewables and stem rising electricity prices.

Energy giant RWE lists first losses in 60 years

Tue, 04 Mar 2014 09:29:00 +0100

Germany's second-biggest power supplier, RWE, unveiled on Tuesday losses of almost €2.8 billion - its first full-year loss in more than 60 years as it grapples with the crisis in conventional electricity generation.

The pain of Merkel's S&M government

Tue, 04 Feb 2014 13:11:00 +0100

Merkel's "grand coalition" government is such an extreme combination of passivity and aggression, it is practically sado-masochist, Malte Lehming argues in Cicero magazine this month.

Merkel lays out priorities for next four years

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 09:29:00 +0100

Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke at length in parliament on Wednesday, outlining the government's priorities. She warned Germany must not become complacent about its economy and was forced to defend pension reforms.

Solar energy jobs halve in two years

Tue, 28 Jan 2014 09:12:00 +0100

The number of jobs in the German solar energy industry has more than halved in two years, figures released by the government on Tuesday revealed.

Nuclear energy firms can sue over shutdown

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 12:02:00 +0100

Nuclear power companies came a step closer on Tuesday to suing German states for shutting down many of their power stations after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

'We’ll see energy revolution to the end'

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 11:54:00 +0200

Germany’s green energy revolution, the Energiewende, is Europe’s most ambitious energy programme, aiming to get the economic power house off fossil fuels and nuclear power and onto renewable sources.