German minister: ‘Strong neighbours’ in Europe can create better energy markets

As it stated in At this week's Energy Storage Europe event, Energy-Storage.News heard from German politician Thorsten Herdan that strong cooperation with other countries in Europe is vital for creating smarter, reliable and cost-effective energy networks. With energy storage still an early stage market, Herdan said he feels many questions still remain unanswered, despite the rapidly maturing technologies available. Market design changes across the continent could follow German modelIn the US, regulator FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) has begun a process of allowing energy storage to participate in wholesale markets. "We are going for the next big step in the Energy Union where we are going to open up markets all around Europe. "We have this problem in Germany that our interconnectors from the North to South are not strong enough to transport for instance wind energy to the South.

State Department upheaval threatens bumpy ride for global energy markets

The latest upheaval in the US administration, with Rex Tillerson's departure as Secretary of State, threatens to add Washington to that list of capitals. And major energy producers are in the firing line. The State Department's new head Mike Pompeo, previously of the CIA, has, like Donald Trump, been notably hostile towards the Iran nuclear deal, and conspiratorial on Russia. But energy producers and investors should not treat the Washington reshuffle as a one-way ticket to higher revenues. With old alliances under strain and new ones nascent or paradoxical, energy producers are set for another testing year.

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collected by :Victor Alphen