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ENERGY

Berlin and Kyiv at odds over Russian gas pipeline

Germany said Friday it hopes to convince Canada to deliver a turbine needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which supplies Germany with most of its Russian gas, with Russia waiting on the machine's arrival before increasing supplies.

Published: 9 July 2022 07:46 CEST
The Nordstream gas pipeline terminal in Lubmin Germany
(FILES) This file photo taken on November 8, 2011 shows the Nord Stream gas pipeline terminal prior to an inaugural ceremony for the first of Nord Stream's twin 1,224 kilometre gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea, in Lubmin, northeastern Germany. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

Germany is seeking to bolster waning energy supplies, but Ukraine has accused Berlin of giving in to Russian “blackmail” after Moscow blamed reduced supplies on the need for repairs, not market conditions amid the Ukraine war.

The turbine is currently undergoing maintenance at a Canadian site owned by German industrial giant Siemens.

Russian energy behemoth Gazprom last month blamed the issue for a reduction in supplies to Germany via the controversial pipeline, with Berlin facing a serious energy crisis.

Berlin says it has been in regular contact with Ottawa in recent weeks in order to ensure the turbine’s swift transfer back to Europe without Canada falling foul of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday that Berlin — already concerned by a wider pipeline maintenance session set to start Monday and for around ten days — had received “positive signals” from Canada.

READ ALSO: How Germany is saving energy ahead of uncertain winter

The German finance ministry indicated that “if it makes taking the decision easier for the Canadians in the legal sense,” Germany could propose Ottawa send Berlin the machinery rather than to Gazprom and Russia.

While not accepting maintenance issues as the reason for Russia cutting supplies, Germany says the return of the turbine would deprive Moscow of an excuse to keep supplies significantly below normal levels.

As the German finance ministry said it was investigating whether return of the apparatus to Russia would constitute sanctions busting by Canada, Ukraine urged the Canadians not to return the turbine.

“We are asking Canada to not return the Gazprom turbine to Germany, but to Ukraine,” Sergiy Makogon, the chief executive officer of Ukraine’s gas transmission system OGTSU wrote on Facebook earlier.

Makogon said Ukraine’s own pipelines were capable of transporting sufficient volumes of gas to Germany to make up for the falloff in Russian supplies.

READ ALSO: German households could see ‘four-digit’ rise in energy costs this winter

“Ukraine can transport the totality of the Nord Stream volume,” said Makogon, referring to the Yamal pipeline which passes through Poland but on which Russia has placed its own sanctions.

Makogon, who has previously stated that a “significant” proportion of the Nord Stream 1 gas transit volume should be rerouted to Ukraine, insisted that “we must not submit to Kremlin blackmail.”

Last month, Yuriy Vitrenko, the head of Ukraine state energy company Naftogaz, accused Gazprom of limiting gas supplies to Europe “for far-fetched and illegal reasons, justifying this by saying Nord Stream 1 is not operating
at full capacity.”

The Kremlin said Friday that it would step up Nord Stream deliveries once the turbine is in place following its maintenance.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

How installing solar panels at home is set to become easier in Germany

As part of its drive to roll out renewable energy, Germany has passed a new law that will make it easier to install solar panels on your balcony. Here's what homeowners and renters need to know.

Published: 30 April 2024 09:22 CEST
How installing solar panels at home is set to become easier in Germany

With rising prices affecting almost every area of life, many people are looking for ways to cut costs wherever they can. 

When it comes to electricity, this could include looking at renewable options like installing solar panels on your balcony.

According to data from the Federal Network Agency’s Market Data Register, this is an increasingly popular choice. As of April 2nd this year, there were around 400,000 balcony solar units in operation in Germany, compared to just 230,000 in the summer of last year.

These little photovoltaic systems can be a great way to become more self-sufficient by producing your own energy for the home – but despite the benefits, you may have been put off by fears of mountains of paperwork and an uncertainty around the rules.

READ ALSO: How to install a solar panel on your balcony in Germany (even if you rent)

The government’s new Solar Energy Package, passed on Friday, aims to solve this issue by making it simpler for people in apartments or single-family homes to install solar panels and use their own energy.

It’s part of a major drive to roll out renewable energy in Germany, pushing up photovoltaic capacity from 7.5 gigawatts in 2022 to 22 gigawatts in 2026 and ultimately 215 gigawatts by 2030. 

But what exactly is changing for homeowners and renters? Here’s what we know so far.

Streamlined registration process

Rather than having to register with your local network operator when installing solar panels on your balcony, in future simply registering with the Federal Network Agency’s Market Data Register will suffice. This streamlined process has been in place since April 1st, 2024. 

Increased capacity allowance

Solar devices installed in the home are allowed to be more powerful in future. If your future device has an installed output of up to 2 kilowatts and an inverter output of up to 800 volt-amperes in total, you can register it quickly in a simple and unbureaucratic registration process.

Previously, devices were only allowed an inverter output of up to 600 volt-amperes. 

No barriers on meters

In a transitional measure designed to encourage more people to switch to solar energy, balcony installations can be run through any type of meter on the market.

Solar panels on a German balcony

Solar panels on a balcony in Germany. The government is making it easier for people to produce – and use – their own solar energy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/iStock.comMaryanaSerdynska | Maryana Serdynska

This includes meters without a backstop, which run backwards when more energy is produced than is used. These, alongside normal one-way meters with a backdrop, will be permitted for a limited time until modern digital meters can be installed. 

Under previous rules, both older types of meter were prohibited. 

Simpler energy storage

In future, balcony solar systems will be able to store energy with a conventional shockproof plug. This will make installation way easier than it was before.

READ ALSO: German government to subsidise up to €30,000 of heating revamp costs

Easier operation of multi-unit buildings

To enable tenants in apartment blocks to use cheaper solar power from roofs, garages or battery storage systems directly, the new instrument of “communal building supply” is being introduced. This eliminates the complicated requirement to feed energy into the general electricity grid and permits residents to use the energy generated themselves.

In future, tenants will also be able to take out an affordable supplementary tariff themselves for electricity that is not covered by their solar installation. Some rules on this still need to be clarified though, so watch this space. 

Tenant subsidies in commercial buildings

In future, tenant electricity will also be subsidised for commercial buildings and ancillary facilities such as garages if the electricity generated there is consumed immediately, i.e. without being fed through the grid.

This allows several energy systems to be combined and should avoid the overwhelming technical barriers that were previously a problem in residential neighbourhoods. 

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