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The SPD and the Greens are pushing ahead with the planned law on municipal heat planning. According to Klara Geywitz (SPD) from the Federal Ministry of Building, the federal government has agreed in principle on a draft law. A ministry spokeswoman said that the bill would now “go to the Länder and associations for consultation”. […]

Portugal’s Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday gave the green light for a huge lithium mine. The mine could become the largest in Western Europe and give a boost to the continent’s growing electric car industry. The southern European country is said to have the continent’s largest lithium deposits, a key raw material for making batteries

In an attempt to further fuel the booming photovoltaic market, the Ministry of Economics has held out the prospect of affordable subsidised loans to homeowners through KfW. However, it turns out that for many average citizens this offer exists only in theory, as they basically have to finance the energy transition themselves. (N-TV, 29.05.2023) A

The vice chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Jens Spahn (CDU), has met with sharp criticism for his proposal to abolish retirement at 63 for those who have been insured for many years. “That would be unfair and would hit hard those people who have worked hard all their lives and often with full physical

The wrangling over the government’s heating law continues on several levels. On Tuesday evening, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) was scheduled to meet with expert politicians of the traffic light parties. In parallel, the deputy parliamentary party leaders of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP also want to discuss possible lines of

The main building of the new battery cell production of the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) in Douvrin, a small town in the French department of Pas-de-Calais, is strikingly designed with a black-and-white pattern. Notable guests from the automotive and energy industries were present for the inauguration of the gigafactory on Tuesday. Among them were the

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck continues to adhere to his heating hammer policy despite criticism from the public. This has implications for the value of unrenovated buildings. This could now also have an impact on another important issue in the housing sector – the reform of property tax. For property owners, 2023 has not

The Suedlink power line, which is to transport electricity from northern Germany to the south over a distance of 700 kilometres, has been delayed for years. Now the construction of a first section has been approved. The grid operator Transnet BW can thus begin construction of the direct current route. The Federal Network Agency has

According to a new draft of the planned heating law prepared by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck together with Federal Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz, citizens are to provide precise information about their energy consumption and the insulation of their houses in the future. The state wants to know how citizens heat their houses,

The federal government expects the railways in Germany to need 88 billion euros in investment by 2027, according to a government response to a question from the Left Party budget expert Victor Perli, which was made public in Berlin on Sunday. The government did not comment on the question of how this was to be

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Green Party wants to help domestic industry by proposing a plan to reduce energy costs. Many companies are struggling due to the sharp rise in energy prices. According to Habeck’s plan, these companies should in future not have to pay more than six cents per kilowatt hour consumed

The rising price of gas and the fear that the gas supply could collapse is causing many people to look for an alternative heating option. Fireplaces and wood stoves are already almost sold out and there are long waiting times (Blackout News: 10.07.22). Now the sale of electric fan heaters, oil radiators and infrared heating

The head of the Federal Network Agency Klaus Müller warns of a serious bottleneck in gas supply in view of the already throttled gas deliveries from Russia and the upcoming maintenance of Nord Stream 1 from 11 July 2022: German gas storage facilities would be able to guarantee security of supply for a maximum of

The impending gas supply stop from Russia could lead to a serious technical problem, which Klaus Müller, as President of the Federal Network Agency, warns of: If the gas pressure in the pipelines drops, the gas in Germany will be distributed unevenly to individual municipalities and regions. Due to a lack of pressure, several hundred

Rising energy prices in Germany have so far hit the lower income groups hard. In the meantime, the middle class is also suffering. This means that Germany has the greatest energy poverty in post-war history. Share of energy costs in the household budget On average, the German household spends 10.2 % of its disposable income