For all the new wind parks, solar farms and hydro plants that will help Europe's biggest economy generate yet another renewable energy record this year, the world's dirtiest power fuel still rules in Germany and sets the price for how much factories are paying for electricity.
Wind turbines will this year for the first time produce more power than plants burning hard coal, as the nation's unprecedented shift toward renewable energy has pushed output from solar and wind to more than a third of the nation's total. Yet, it is coal prices at their highest level since 2013 that's pushing up electricity rates for the first time in six years because of the way the market works.
As coalition talks drag on for a third month, Chancellor Angela Merkel's bloc and its potential partners agree at least on one thing: coal power must be capped. Even after consumers have paid some €650 billion ($770 billion) in subsidies for everything from solar panels on roofs to offshore wind farms, grids and giant batteries, the nation is on course to miss its high-profile 2020 target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
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