German steel industry fears rising costs in move to renewable energy

German steel industry warns of rising costs in move to renewable energy. Germany’s steel industry said it fears costs for electricity could at least double to 400 million euros annually as the country seeks to move toward renewable sources of energy. Hans Juergen Kerkhoff, president of the German steel association, said in an e-mailed statement that the country’s renewable energy bill would “deal a new blow to the steel industry.” He said that “in view of total costs for energy and climate policy, all possibilities must be utilized to bring down power prices to a competitive level for energy-intensive industries,” adding that the German environment ministry had done “exactly the opposite” in its existing bill.