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Kay Scheller, President of the Federal Court of Auditors, accuses the German government of inefficiency and “state failure” in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, particularly regarding its handling of multi-billion-euro special funds. According to him, the debt-financed money too rarely flows into genuine investments, and the relevant authorities often fail to implement it effectively. […]

On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the chimney of the coal-fired power plant in Ibbenbüren was demolished, despite gas shortages and the fact that LNG terminals sometimes require icebreakers to clear ice. The demolition affected a plant that had been feeding 840 megawatts of controllable power into the German electricity grid. This controllable capacity is now

The 2026 federal budget allocates €31 billion for energy and climate subsidies, including €17 billion for the former EEG surcharge and €6.5 billion to mitigate grid fees. Since 2023, this funding has been provided through tax revenue instead of a surcharge on electricity bills, because the subsidy commitments continue to tie up funds. The decisive

In the Havelland district of Brandenburg, District Administrator Roger Lewandowski (CDU) has ended the “H2VL Hydrogen Region Havelland” project. He cites the lack of federal and state funding as the reason for abandoning the project. The project was intended to advance the energy transition in the district while simultaneously decarbonizing transportation and heating. The district

On Saturday evening, a container of electronic waste caught fire on the premises of a recycling company in the Enzberg district of Mühlacker, in the Enzkreis district. Initial investigations indicate that a battery spontaneously combusted, causing the stored material in the outdoor area to ignite. The fire produced thick smoke that spread to surrounding areas,

In recent days, several regions in Baden-Württemberg experienced power outages, some of them lengthy. On February 22, 2026, faults in the vicinity of a substation in Villingen triggered a widespread outage in the Schwarzwald-Baar district, causing traffic lights to fail, elevators to stop, and authorities to activate emergency call centers. On the same day, a

Many landowners are currently experiencing the collapse of commitments from wind energy projects because the lease payments no longer align with the developers’ revised market calculations. At the DLG event “Wind Lease – When the Wind Changes,” attorney Volker Henties explained the main reasons. The winning bids in the tenders have fallen significantly, while banks

China accelerated the expansion of its coal-fired power plant capacity in 2025, commissioning 52 large units (each with a capacity of ≥1 GW), according to the CREA/Global Energy Monitor report. This is the highest figure in ten years, during which fewer than 20 such large units were connected to the grid. The catalyst was the

Following the ban on Russian gas, Europe is restructuring its gas supply, but this course of action is driving Germany and the EU into renewed dependence on expensive US LNG. According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany sourced 96 percent of its LNG from the US last year. Within the European

In Germany, the gold rush mentality surrounding solar and wind farms has been over since 2025. Falling electricity prices are squeezing revenues, while interest rates and construction costs are rising. At the same time, long grid connection waiting times are slowing projects down, causing budgets and timelines to shift. Furthermore, a draft amendment to the

The Federal Network Agency has presented guidelines for reforming electricity grid fees, according to which operators of solar power plants will have to pay a fee from 2029 onwards as soon as they feed self-generated solar power into the public grid. This is triggered by the expiration of the Electricity Grid Fee Ordinance (StromNEV) at

Despite falling wholesale prices and a multi-billion euro write-down, the French energy company EDF once again posted a strong profit in 2025. The positive result is primarily due to increased electricity production from French nuclear power plants, whose exports reached record levels. At the same time, cost risks such as the British construction project Hinkley

The IG Metall union in Bavaria is facing a massive wave of job losses in the metal and electrical engineering industries. Given the weak economic situation and ongoing structural changes, the union anticipates around 30,000 job losses. This is triggered by current or announced cutbacks in numerous companies, while only a fraction of new jobs

In an interview with WELT, Mahle CEO Arnd Franz criticizes the EU’s policy on phasing out combustion engines by 2035. The reason for his criticism is a Brussels proposal that allows for flexibility regarding hybrids and range extenders, but which, in his view, lacks a clear direction. As a Stuttgart-based supplier, Mahle is at the

Stellantis is bringing back diesel engines to several models in Europe while keeping them available for others. The company says it is realigning its offerings due to strong customer demand. According to Reuters, Stellantis has quietly reactivated diesel variants in at least seven European models since the end of 2025, even though diesel sales accounted