As of: March 14, 2024, 2:00 p.m
By: Ulrike Hagen
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The energy transition is progressing slowly, complained the Federal Audit Office.
The E.on CEO is now calling for the expansion of green electricity to be postponed in favor of network availability.
Essen – Robert Habeck just received a slap in the face from the Federal Audit Office for the status of the energy transition.
Now the CEO of Germany's leading network operator, E.on, is adding: "Approval for the energy transition and climate protection is decreasing," said Leonhard Birnbaum on Wednesday (March 13) at the presentation of E.on's annual balance sheet in Essen.
You can add non-renewable energies "at will if they don't reach customers and only increase costs." He called for "the addition of further renewable energies to be synchronized with the expansion of the networks and to be made dependent on them."
E.on boss Leonhard Birnbaum sharply criticized the status of the energy transition in Germany at the annual press conference in Essen.
© Imago/Sven Simon
“Approval for the energy transition and climate protection is decreasing”: Eon boss warns of the costs of the energy transition
Birnbaum explained: If you don't want to lose people, you have to "be honest."
He warned: “We have to say clearly that the transformation will cost a lot of money in the next few years.” His suggestion: In order to limit “the system costs” of the energy transition, the expansion of renewable energies should be made dependent on the expansion of the networks.
In other words: The expansion of green electricity should be postponed in favor of network availability.
“We are in no way calling for an expansion brake, on the contrary,” explained an E.on spokesman when asked by
IPPEN.MEDIA
: “We have to go full throttle on the expansion, the expansion should only be controlled sensibly, the capacity of the network apply”.
From a grid perspective, even more wind in the north and even more solar in the south makes less sense than more wind and solar energy in places where the transport of electricity does not yet have to be regularly regulated.
“We have to be honest” – network operator calls for green electricity expansion to be made dependent on network expansion
Birnbaum said on Wednesday that it was “about more than decarbonization.
It’s about the affordability, functionality and resilience of the energy system.”
The Court of Auditors had also called on the federal government and Economics Minister Robert Habeck to take “worst case scenarios” into account and – in addition to renewable energies – to also expand “to ensure secure, controllable power plant output at all times”.
Grid expansion instead of green electricity – E.on boss calls for “new narrative for decarbonization”
E.on boss Birnbaum calls for a “new narrative for decarbonization”.
He suggested that the risks of network congestion could be “transferred to the responsible investors.”
A measure that consequently puts grid expansion ahead of green electricity and is likely to lead to a decline in investment in new wind and solar parks.
The Federal Audit Office had determined that the network expansion was already seven years and 6,000 kilometers behind plans.
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“We have to get ahead of the wave”: E.on boss wants higher incentives and interest rates for private investors
There are still far too many hurdles in implementation, Europe is simply too slow, explained Birnbaum.
The main focus of politics and regulation must be on becoming faster and “getting ahead of the wave,” said the E.on boss.
This means: “Planning and approval procedures must be reduced and incentives created so that infrastructure is ideally built before it is needed.” Birnbaum called for “to ensure an appropriate environment for private sector investments,” also “to ensure appropriate regulatory interest on existing systems in the German network to offer.
E.on announces annual balance sheet for 2023: operating profit of 9.4 billion euros
The group's operating profit amounted to 9.4 billion euros in the 2023 financial year, which was 1.3 billion euros above the previous year and above the original forecast, E.on CEO Birnbaum and CFO Marc Spieker announced.
The plan is to increase investments again from 2024 to 2028 to 42 billion euros across Europe.
70 percent of the funds in Germany are to be invested primarily in network expansion.
The costs for these investments are borne indirectly by consumers: through network charges.