Schleswig-Holstein energy min rejects cuts to wind power subsidies - report

Jul10, 2013 - Schleswig-Holstein's energy minister Robert Habeck has dismissed calls for limiting subsidies to the wind power industry.

Wind energy contributes to lowering the cost of Germany's ongoing transition to green energy, Habeck told dpa news agency on Tuesday in response to a suggestion made by the federal environment minister Peter Altmaier to reduce subsidies for wind power sites.

Schleswig-Holstein has the potential to generate a lot of wind power, making electricity produced in the North cheaper than the average in the country, Habeck was cited as saying.

Germany's goal of replacing fossil fuels with green energy is proving too costly and Germans are growing increasingly frustrated with their ballooning power bills. Altmaier, who said in February that the transition to renewable energy may cost up to EUR 1 trillion (USD 1.27trln) in the next two decades, has sought to cap power price rises before the election in September.

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