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Politics 09/04/2025, 17:45
A new government alliance between the CDU/CSU and the SPD has been formed.
(Image: Deutscher Bundestag/Simone M. Neumann)

Heading for the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition: Initial reactions

Berlin - The CDU, CSU and SPD have agreed on a coalition agreement. At a joint press conference, CDU leader Friedrich Merz tried to spread a spirit of optimism. One of his confidants will probably take care of energy policy in future.
Politics 09/04/2025, 17:35
The coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD comprises 146 pages.
(Image: energate)

New coalition agreement: What is in the energy chapter

Berlin - Forty-five days after the parliamentary elections, the CDU, CSU and SPD have agreed on a joint coalition agreement. This is intended to send a signal of a new beginning, said Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz. The energy chapter of the agreement comprises eight pages. We have summarised the core content.
Market & Industry 09/04/2025, 17:13
According to Aalen's Lord Mayor Frederick Brütting, Stadtwerke Aalen's energy business is secure.
(Image: Stadtwerke Aalen GmbH)

City of Aalen bails out loss-making municipal utilities

Aalen - Stadtwerke Aalen is in crisis. Because the municipal utility from Baden-Württemberg is showing a deficit in the double-digit millions in its balance sheet for 2024, the municipality is helping its supplier financially. The city has voiced harsh criticism of the former management.
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Politics

Politics 09/04/2025, 16:07
Alexandra Decker (Cemex) (2nd from left), Helmut Kleebank (SPD), Andreas Jung (CDU), Gerrit Riemer (Thyssenkrupp Steel) and Jörg-Andreas Krüger (Nabu) discussed CCS and CCU.
(Image: Edgar Nemschok/KAS)

Onshore storage of CO2 is being discussed again

Berlin - The participants in a panel discussion at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation agreed that the carbon management strategy needs to be relaunched. And there was also a desire for a fresh start when it came to CO2 storage on land.
Politics 09/04/2025, 12:58

Think tank argues in favour of special purpose vehicles for the energy transition

Berlin - The energy transition needs investment. In a strategy paper, the think tank Epico, the German Economic Institute (IW) and the environmental organisation Bellona Deutschland have set out how more private capital could flow into energy infrastructure, industrial plants and technology.
Politics 08/04/2025, 17:22

Smart meter rollout: Question of costs and simplification

Berlin/Essen - The smart meter rollout in Germany is facing controversial challenges, as became clear at the energate talk: Some experts are in favour of simplified technology, others warn of new complications. At the same time, the debate about costs and the role of competitive metering point operators is becoming increasingly intense.
Politics 08/04/2025, 16:45

LNG could become a pawn in the customs dispute with the USA

Luxembourg - The US tariffs are driving the EU Trade Council: more LNG import commitments could be one way to bring the US government back to the negotiating table, at least if EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic has his way.
Politics 07/04/2025, 17:23

Saxony shakes up the area target for wind energy

Dresden - Saxony's Minister of State for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Regina Kraushaar (CDU), is causing concern in the wind energy sector. She described the two per cent target for wind energy areas as "difficult to implement" for Saxony.
All news in the rubric Politics

Market & Industry

Market & Industry 09/04/2025, 13:57
A controversy has erupted over the sense and nonsense of subsidising smaller rooftop systems.
(Image: Otovo)

Concerns about the "energy transition in the hands of citizens"

Berlin - Calls from the energy industry for the cancellation of EEG subsidies are provoking a backlash from grassroots associations. One initiative sees the "citizen-led energy transition" in danger and is now calling for the EEG fixed tariffs to be maintained.
Market & Industry 09/04/2025, 12:57

"The energy transition will not fail because of money"

Leipzig - Converting the infrastructure for the energy transition is a multi-billion euro project. Small municipal utilities in particular sometimes find it difficult to find urgently needed additional sources of funding. The newly founded joint venture Finance Connect aims to remedy this situation. Co-initiator Tobias Frevel explains how this will work in an energate interview.
Market & Industry 09/04/2025, 12:26

The difficult path to financing the energy transition

Leipzig - Germany's utilities are relying on the climate protection billions from the government's latest special fund to expand the energy infrastructure. At the same time, grid expansion is attracting interest from investors. Smaller municipal utilities are nevertheless finding it difficult to tap into additional sources of funding. A financial services provider wants to help.
Market & Industry 09/04/2025, 12:22

Enercity recruits head of Human Resources from Mercedes

Hanover - The Hanover-based regional utility company Enercity has appointed a new Chief Human Resources Officer. Eefje Pompen, a Dutch national, is moving from Mercedes-Benz to Lower Saxony.
Market & Industry 08/04/2025, 15:26

Municipal utilities and energy supply companies doubt compliance with climate targets

Munich - A failed heating transition also threatens to jeopardise compliance with climate targets. Municipal utilities and energy suppliers consider this to be a realistic scenario and attach conditions to the success of both projects. A survey by Deloitte Germany provides a picture of the mood in the world of municipal utilities.
All news in the rubric Market & Industry

Power

Power 09/04/2025, 15:00
Acer wants to boost flexibility on the demand side.
(Image: GoeCharger/CarstenReineke)

No-regret measures for more demand flexibility

Llubjana - Making electricity demand more flexible is one of the key factors for a successful energy transition. The European Agency of Regulatory Authorities Acer is now coming up with a catalogue of measures.
Power 09/04/2025, 14:04

Stromnetz Berlin launches new allocation procedure

Berlin - Stromnetz Berlin is launching a new allocation procedure for grid connection requests from major customers. The procedure is intended to create transparency and treat all customers equally. Nevertheless, there are also complaints against the new capacity allocation in the Berlin electricity grid.
Power 09/04/2025, 10:44

Lithuania and the Czech Republic cut back on renewables

Vilnius/Prague - The political debate has shifted. Climate policy and the energy transition have slipped down the rankings - this also applies to the Eastern European countries of Lithuania and the Czech Republic.
Power 08/04/2025, 17:37

Security of supply: Market instead of subsidies

Berlin - Electricity suppliers are to hedge their demand in advance in future - this is the central idea of a study. The mechanism is supposed to work without subsidies, build on existing market processes and make the energy transition more efficient.
Power 08/04/2025, 17:29

Green Flexibility builds "grid-neutral" battery storage system

Kempten/Obergünzburg - The storage project developer Green Flexibility is tackling a new project in Ostallgäu. A battery storage facility with an output of 40 MW and a capacity of 90 MWh is to be built in Obergünzburg in eastern Bavaria.
All news in the rubric Power

Gas & Heat

Gas & Heat 09/04/2025, 16:47
In order to counter the distortions on the market, Germany wants to make the filling level requirements for gas storage facilities more flexible.
(Image: Storengy)

Italy supports gas storage filling

Milan - In order to increase the willingness of traders to fill natural gas storage facilities, the Italian transmission system operator Snam has paid compensation for negative price spreads as part of an auction. Germany is still working on a solution to the problem.
Gas & Heat 09/04/2025, 15:30

Air Liquide receives RFNBO certification in Oberhausen

Oberhausen - The hydrogen produced by Air Liquide in Oberhausen is now recognised as a renewable fuel of non-biological origin. With the help of Dekra Certification, the company has successfully completed the recognition process in accordance with EU regulations.
Gas & Heat 09/04/2025, 14:52

Berlin in search of waste heat

Berlin - How can Berlin's heating supply become greener in future? This was a recent topic at the Berlin Economic Talks. Waste heat could play a key role. But there will probably also be molecules in Berlin's heating market in the future.
Gas & Heat 09/04/2025, 10:00

Badenova joins Smart Geomatics

Freiburg - Freiburg-based utility Badenova wants to professionalise municipal heating planning and has joined Karlsruhe-based software provider Smart Geomatics for this purpose. The aim is to have at least 170 heating plans ready by 2028. energate spoke to the two managing directors Manuel Baur and Thomas Beck about the joint path towards this goal.
Gas & Heat 09/04/2025, 09:00

District heating: the "cursed" market element

Frankfurt am Main - The German Antitrust Office has been investigating seven district heating suppliers for more than a year, also with regard to the weighting of market and cost elements. Hans-Christoph Thomale from the Frankfurt-based law firm Mazars explains the competition authorities' latest statements from a legal perspective in this guest comment.
All news in the rubric Gas & Heat