FRANKFURT/MUNICH, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Desertec, which aims to
bring power to Europe from huge solar and wind projects in
Africa and the Middle East, should set up pilot schemes globally
to prove the plan’s feasibility faster, one of its shareholders
said.

“Ideally, we would like to see 5-10 Desertec pilot projects
worldwide,” Thiemo Gropp, director of the Desertec Foundation,
one of the shareholders of the Desertec Industrial Initiative
(DII), told Reuters on Tuesday.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s No.2 utility RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) gave a more optimistic outlook for 2012 earnings after halving losses at its energy trading unit by renegotiating gas price contracts.

Gas contracts have been a major problem for European utilities which agreed long-term deals with companies such as Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) and Statoil (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) when prices were high, having to sell to retail customers at lower tariffs.

FRANKFURT, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Germany’s No.2 utility RWE
raised its outlook for 2012 core earnings, helped by
cost cuts, disposals and an improved performance at its energy
trading unit.

RWE said on Wednesday its capital expenditure was down by 1
billion euros ($1.27 billion) in the first nine months of 2012,
while the recent sale of assets, including its stake in British
nuclear joint venture Horizon, has gained momentum.

FRANKFURT, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Germany’s No.1 utility E.ON
warned of weakening power demand in Europe and
signalled it may have to close plants and step up saving efforts
after cutting its outlook for next year.

“In most European markets, the gross margin for gas-fired
units is approaching zero or is indeed already negative. One
factor is that the demand for electricity remains very low,”
Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen said on Tuesday after the
company published financial results.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s largest utility, E.ON AG (EONGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), warned it was reviewing its earnings outlook for 2013, citing weak economic conditions that have hurt the energy industry.

“Considering the substantial economic risks and the structural changes of the industry sector (the outlook) no longer seems to be achievable,” E.ON said late on Monday in an unscheduled statement after market closing.

FRANKFURT, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Germany’s largest utility,
E.ON AG, warned it was reviewing its earnings outlook
for 2013, citing weak economic conditions that have hurt the
energy industry.

“Considering the substantial economic risks and the
structural changes of the industry sector (the outlook) no
longer seems to be achievable,” E.ON said late on Monday in an
unscheduled statement after market closing.

FRANKFURT, Nov 9 (Reuters) – EnBW, Germany’s
third-biggest utility, repeated its outlook for a 5 percent fall
in core earnings this year due to low power prices and the
phase-out of two nuclear plants, after posting a slight decline
for the nine months.

It reiterated its August outlook for adjusted earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to
fall about 5 percent from last year’s 2.45 billion euros ($3.1
billion). Before August, it had expected a 10 to 15 percent
drop.

FRANKFURT, Nov 8 (Reuters) – SMA Solar, Germany’s
No. 1 solar group, said it was to cut costs further given that
margins may evaporate next year because of falling subsidies for
solar power.

SMA, the world’s largest maker of solar inverters – a key
component in solar installations, said on Thursday it would
further cut the price of inverters by slashing production costs
and purchasing prices.

FRANKFURT, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Germany’s solar power systems
market continued to grow strongly in September, putting Europe’s
biggest economy on track for a new installation record this year
and increasing pressure on the ruling coalition to curb the
spiralling costs to consumers.

In September nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of new solar power
generating capacity was installed, the energy network regulator
Bundesnetzagentur said on Wednesday, bringing the total of new
installations in the January-September period to about 6.2 GW.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The chief executive of Germany’s second-biggest utility RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) signaled on Wednesday that it may take longer to sell up to 7 billion euros ($9.08 billion) in assets which it currently plans to dispose of by the end of next year.

In an interview with Reuters, Peter Terium said there were more sellers than buyers in the market for utility assets and that this was depressing prices.