German Power Spat With Denmark Holds Up Single Market Trade
- Germany cut Danish power import capacity by 89 percent in 2016
- Energy ministers still debating resolution after 5 years
Wind turbines operate on the Innogy SE wind farm in Bedburg, Germany, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. RWE's green energy business Innogy has demand for all the shares for sale in its initial public offering as the company heads toward the biggest European listing in years.
Photographer: Martin Leissl/BloombergA long-running squabble between Denmark and Germany over power cables linking the countries has cut the amount of electricity Nordic producers can supply to Europe’s biggest market to the lowest level in 17 years.
Germany cut import capacity from mainland Denmark by 89 percent on average last year, the most since a power market between the nations started in 2000. It’s a consequence of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s unprecedented Energiewende: the shift to wind and solar power mean surges in renewable energy production make it hard for the nation’s grids to handle its own electricity, let alone imports.