German chems should be exempt from power levy

06 May 2008 16:32  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--Germany’s chemicals producers need to get an exemption from a levy on electricity - raised to promote renewable fuels - that is costing the industry €170m ($260m) a year, industry association VCI said in a statement made available on Tuesday.

 

Chemical producers have to pay the levy even on electricity generated from their combined heat-power systems (“Kraft-wärme-kopplung”, or KWK), the association said.

 

These systems were already highly energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly, VCI said, urging lawmakers to exempt them from the levy.

 

High electricity costs could lead to the relocation of electricity-intensive chemical production outside Germany in the medium term, VCI said.

 

Germany’s chemicals industry with its 460,000 workers was one of the country’s most energy-intensive sectors, it said, adding that an exemption would help to reconcile ecological and commercial considerations.

 

German parliamentarians are considering reforms to the country’s renewable energy legislation.

 

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By: Stefan Baumgarten
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