CONFERENCE WIND WIRE

At the Hannover Messe's renewables congress, Europe's largest solar association, Eurosolar, said it is campaigning for a series of amendments to existing laws in Germany to bring down administrative barriers to renewables; a call was made for an investigation into how renewables development could be part of the so-called joint implementation of CO2 measures, where industry achieves part of its voluntary or obligatory CO2 cuts through investments in the power sector in less developed countries; and Enercon claimed that if its wind turbines were financed over ten years they could produce for DEM 0.125/kWh.

1 May 1995

Europe's largest solar association is campaigning for a new "Article Law" to bring down administrative barriers to renewables in Germany, said Hermann Scheer, president of Eurosolar, at the Hannover Renewable Energies Congress. Eurosolar's proposal bundles a series of amendments to existing laws, but at no cost to the taxpayer, said Scheer, who is a member of the German parliament. Eurosolar is also pushing for a Europe-wide law, similar to the German Electricity Feed Law, requiring utilities to permit grid connection of renewables plant and buy all the power at a premium price.

Joint CO2 implementation

Franz Tacke, chairman of the wind energy sector of the VDMA, the association of German plant and machinery manufacturers, called for an investigation into how the use of renewable energies could be built into CO2 compensation models, or the so-called joint implementation of CO2 measures. "We must find financial instruments which allow us to use renewables where they make the most economic sense and can make the biggest contribution to the environment," says Tacke. He was speaking at a press conference called by the VDMA at the Hannover trade fair last month. The federal Environment Ministry and the German electricity utilities association, VDEW, are both in favour of joint implementation, but so far the use of renewables has not played any part in the debate. The intention is that industry should be allowed to achieve part of its future voluntary or obligatory CO2 cuts through investments in modernisation of old plant or

construction of new

plant in less developed coun-

tries. Tacke points out that in China, CO2 emissions could increase by a factor of five between the years 1971 and 2010. "When I listen to the shortsighted discussions here in Germany, I get the impression we're talking about the dot on the "i" but have completely forgotten the "i" itself," regrets Tacke.

Cheaper

Enercon wind turbines financed over ten years can produce electricity for DEM 0.125/kWh, said the owner of the German firm, Aloys Wobben, at the Hannover congress. If the plant were written off over a longer period, electricity production costs would be correspondingly lower, he pointed out.