The German program is buckling under the weight of surging costs and needs an urgent fix. The green surcharge will cost consumers about €26.2 billion this year. At a cost of some €11 billion to the budget, the government will cut the green fee by 2 cents/kWh next year. In other words, power consumers’ burdens will be relieved by taxpayers.

The last few months have been sunny and windy and the wholesale prices have been low due to the pandemic. But the owners of solar- and wind power stations in Germany receive a fixed price and the difference comes from a surcharge paid by consumers. It will likely increase by 25% in 2021 and an average household will pay 350 euros per year.

EDF said it does not yet know how the project will be funded. Humphrey Cadoux Hudson said: “it is important to get the lowest cost of capital”. Backers of nuclear power insist Britain needs to replace existing nuclear plants, given that it is committed to net zero emissions by 2050, and the country cannot rely on wind and solar power all of the time.

Output from wind farms was up by 40% compared with the first quarter of 2019 as Britain experienced the wettest and windiest February on record. Making sure the grid isn’t overloaded by wind and solar is a challenge for National Grid Plc. The grid operator asked for emergency powers to switch off renewable generators if needed to limit supply.

Germany's negative electricity price rules caused €50 million in losses for offshore wind projects in February 2020. In particular, the "six-hour rule" that stops support payments, if wholesale day-ahead electricity prices go negative for more than six hours. The aim is to ensure there is no incentive to generate electricity when supply exceeds demand.

The electricity futures prices for the next quarter still do not show symptoms of being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. From March 9 to 11, the prices increased in most European markets. The outlook for the electricity futures for 2021: the UK registered a rise of 0.1%, other markets registered declines of between 0.2% and 3.4%.

British pension funds may soon need to explain how they are fighting climate change under a global framework as the United Kingdom aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. British pension funds managed some $2.8 trillion in assets in 2018, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Sustainable investing is one of the fastest-growing areas in money management as pension plans and other large investors plow money into the strategy. About $30.7 trillion was held in sustainable or green investments in 2018. 63% of money managers cited a lack of quality and consistent sustainability data as the biggest challenge in making such decisions.

The federal government wants to put more pressure on bituminous coal power plants than previously planned. Power stations could be switched off without compensation as early as 2024. The exit from sub-bituminous coal had been clarified in separate negotiations with the operators. Both are to be brought together in one act of law.

The German government plans to compensate utility RWE with around 2.6 billion euros for costs related to the country’s planned coal exit. Mining company Mibrag, owned by Czech energy group EPH, is likely to get 1.75 billion euros of compensation. The payments will begin when coal-fired plants are turned off until the broad final coal exit date.

Only 276 new wind turbines with an output of 940 MW were put into operation in 2019. Compared to the average expansion in the past 5 years, it is a decrease of 77%. The reasons are long approval procedures, insufficiently designated areas and many lawsuits. Many local initiatives against the construction of wind turbines have been formed.

Green bonds are red hot. Issuance smashed through projections in 2019 and will continue expanding this year as sustainability minded investors snap up almost every deal that hits the market. Moody’s had to revise its projection for the year 2019 from $200 billion to $250 billion. The average offering is more than three times oversubscribed.