The Local Germany

Eco campaigners blockade German coal mine

Sat, 14 May 2016 14:48:07 +0200

Two thousand environmental protesters blockaded a coal mine in Germany on Friday as part of an international campaign against the use of fossil fuels.

Sweden's Vattenfall starts German sales

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 12:47:00 +0200

UPDATED: All of the energy company's brown coal sites in Germany are set to go on sale as the Swedish state-owned firm moves to focus on renewable energy.

Hamburg buys its energy grid back for €400 million

Thu, 16 Jan 2014 15:39:00 +0100

Energy giant Vattenfall said on Thursday it had "unwillingly" agreed to sell the electricity grid in Hamburg back to the city, as approved by a referendum last year.

Bid to run Berlin's energy on green principles fails

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 10:43:00 +0100

A campaign in Berlin to buy the city's energy network and run it independently from the capital's government failed by a whisker to get enough votes in a referendum on Sunday.

Vattenfall Germany under fire in Sweden

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:25:00 +0100

Germany's fourth-biggest electricity provider Vattenfall is coming under increasingly hostile scrutiny in its Swedish homeland - for its poor German environmental record and because it is failing to produce huge profits.

A million migrating fish climb largest ladder

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:36:00 +0100

A million fish have used Europe's biggest fish ladder in the Elbe river near Hamburg since it opened in summer 2010 to migrate from the North Sea past a dam and power station to spawning waters upstream.

Vattenfall: households will pay for green power

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:04:00 +0200

Private households in Germany will see their electricity prices soar to pay for the switch to renewable energy, while wholesale prices for big consumers would be unchanged, power group Vattenfall said on Tuesday.

Vattenfall to contest nuclear phaseout

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:51:00 +0100

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall is reportedly preparing to take the German government to the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes over the closure of its nuclear power plants.

Bundestag blackout – MPs without WCs

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:05:00 +0100

German parliamentarians in Berlin sent their employees home on Tuesday after an electricity failure at the Bundestag and surrounding government buildings rendered even many toilets inoperable.

Vattenfall to build €1-billion wind farm in Germany

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:08:00 +0200

Swedish energy group Vattenfall said on Tuesday it would invest about €1 billion along with Germany's Stadtwerke München (SWM) in a 80-turbine offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

Vattenfall sells German power grid to Australian fund

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:57:00 +0100

The Swedish energy group Vattenfall said on Friday it will sell its German high-tension power grid to Belgium's Elia and Australian investment fund IFM for €810 million ($1.1 billion).

Utilities hiking power prices

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:32:00 +0100

Two German utilities – Vattenfall and EWE – announced on Wednesday they would dramatically raise electricity prices for their customers starting next year, blaming the higher cost of renewable energy.

Energy company cooperation could curb consumer costs

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:28:00 +0100

Rising energy prices could be curbed by an upcoming cooperation between Germany’s three largest electricity providers, EON, Vattenfall and EnBW.

Brown coal: Germany's big dirty secret

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:25:00 +0200

To generate electricity, power company Vattenfall burns the dirtiest coal on earth. So far, thousands of people’s homes have been destroyed by mining, and more will follow. Will the company’s new ‘carbon capture’ technology make a difference? Exberliner's Seymour Gris reports.

20,000 visitors expected at WindEnergy trade fair

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:30:00 +0200

Thirty-five countries are taking part in the WindEnergy 2008 trade show that begins in Husum, Schleswig-Holstein on Tuesday.

Brandenburg fires up experimental CO2 power plant

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:18:00 +0200

Swedish energy company Vattenfall will fire up an experimental coal power plant in Brandenburg on Tuesday with the aim of trapping the unwanted carbon dioxide emissions.

Vattenfall loses reduced charges case

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:59:00 +0200

Energy giant Vattenfall has been ordered to pay €50 million to its competitors and reduce its network charges, after losing a court battle with German regulators on Thursday.

Unions warn of strike at Vattenfall

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:19:00 +0100

Unions are threatening prolonged strikes at the Vattenfall headquarters in Berlin due to a conflict over wages. The unions IGBCE, who represents workers in the energy industry, and IG Metall, the industry union of metal workers, are demanding an 8 percent increase in wages, while Vattenfall is insisting on its offer of a 3.2 percent wage and a one time payment of 500 Euros.