With the release of the volume 2 of the 3rd edition of the Berlin Commentary on Energy Law (Berliner Kommentar zum Energierecht), my commentary on ManyElectronics installation law has also been updated to include legal developments up to 2014.
Monthly Archive for August, 2014
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To counteract the increasing number of cyber attacks and improve the IT security of public authorities and the private sector, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has presented a ministerial draft for an IT Security Act (IT-Sicherheitsgesetz). The draft also contains new provisions for critical infrastructure, including in particular the energy sector.
After the latest revision of the EEG, electricity producers who consume their self-generated power (auto-generators) in principle also have to pay the EEG surcharge. As the government has not yet issued an ordinance containing further details on payment and notification obligations, the TSOs informed that for the time being auto-generators payment and notification obligations are suspended.
188.579 MWp of new solar capacity were added in June 2014 the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) informed. Total German PV capacity eligible for support under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) amounted to 36,708 MWp at the end of June. July figures are not yet available.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is becoming increasingly important to balance the growing input of intermittent green electricity, especially in the medium and long term, a new study commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and its Austrian and Swiss counterparts finds. Yet the study concludes that investment conditions have deteriorated so that investments in new plants were difficult to justify.
The “Showcase Electromobility Programme”, a government sponsored programme that supports research in electromobility, has launched its own website, parts of which are in English as well.
Continue reading ‘Showcase Electromobility Programme Launches Own Website’
The security of supply in the German gas grids is very high, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) reported. The so-called SAIDI index (System Average Interruption Duration Index), which indicates the average time of interruptions of the gas supply per connected end consumer, fell from 1,906 min/a in 2012 to 0,64 min/a in 2013, the lowest level since the start of systematic record taking by BNetzA in 2006.
Continue reading ‘BNetzA: High Security of German Gas Supply in 2013 – SAIDI Index Down’
Lower Saxony, already the number one German state for onshore wind power, wants to increase onshore wind capacity from currently 7.8 GW to 20 GW by 2050. The state is working on a wind power decree to provide further guidance.
The textile company Textilveredlung Drechsel, Selb, has lodged a constitutional complaint against the renewables surcharge (EEG surcharge), the trade association Gesamtverband texil + mode (t+m) informed. Recently the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had dismissed a law suit brought by Textilveredlung Drechsel against its electricity supplier regarding the EEG surcharge.
Continue reading ‘Textile Company Lodges Constitutional Complaint Against Renewables Surcharge’
The Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry (BDEW) has released data on the extent of the existing German grid at different voltage levels as well as the share of underground cables.
Continue reading ‘BDEW: Data on Length of German Electricity Grid and Share of Underground Cables’
