Energy Newsletter

The Federal Network Agency is preparing a crisis platform for the electricity sector, while network capacities in metropolitan areas such as Hamburg are already insufficient today. Electricity connections will be allocated in the future as the energy transition infrastructure cannot keep pace with demand. This endangers supply security and forces drastic measures such as load management and possible rationing.

RWE is investing an additional 60 million euros in Focused Energy and is thus advancing a fusion power plant at the Biblis site, while the startup is raising a total of 240 million dollars in Series A funding. This signals a technology shift in the German energy industry away from pure renewables toward fusion as a long-term solution. The project could provide initial grid services from the middle of the decade.

Industrial electricity prices stand at 16.7 ct/kWh in 2026 for new contracts and are 2–2.5x higher than in the USA, even after subsidies and electricity price brakes. Taxes and network charges are at least as significant cost drivers as pure electricity generation. This exacerbates the competitiveness of energy-intensive sectors such as steel and chemicals.

Renewable energy covered over 50% of electricity generation for the first time in Q1 2026, offshore wind power reached new quarterly highs. Germany became a net exporter for the first time since 2023 as wholesale prices fell more sharply than in neighboring countries. This demonstrates technical success of the energy transition but continues to mask grid and storage problems.

Amprion's A-Nord HVDC project (2 GW wind corridor) and TenneT's Security-of-Supply Monitor 2026 show massive bottlenecks in connecting offshore wind. The monitor warns of structural supply gaps from 2030 onward and a 40 GW shortfall in European offshore targets due to permit and connection delays. Transmission system operators expect declining network charges (2.86 vs. 6.65 ct/kWh), signaling rationalization pressure.