In his contribution to a podium discussion during Copenhagen Offshore Wind Prof Dr Fritz Vahrenholt, CEO of REpower, called for support on the political and business front with respect to developing offshore wind energy in Germany. He argued that costs for connecting the cables of the offshore wind parks to the land should be carried by the utility companies themselves, as is the case for other power plants. Prof Dr Vahrenholt is calling for support from the utility companies: ‘The distance to the coast of 40–50km which is promoted by environmental policy makes connection to the grid more expensive. In Germany I would plead for utility companies generally bearing these costs, which in turn can reduce the feed in tariffs by up to 30%. These costs may not be charged to investors. Grid connections to all coal, gas and nuclear power stations are also carried by the utility companies and distributed via wheeling fees. Wind energy may not be placed in a worse situation.’
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