The Weekly Standard has it here:

Germany Abandons Cap and Trade for Major Industries

Just as the Obama administration and its allies in Congress try to ram through cap and trade legislation, European countries are moving to exempt entire industries from the regulation lest they simply relocate their operations to more business-friendly nations. The Financial Times reports:

Berlin is preparing to help domestic industries overcome the economic crisis by cutting the electricity bills of the country’s largest energy users.

Aluminium, copper and zinc producers are among energy-intensive industrial sectors that could benefit from the plans, which are set to be agreed ahead of elections in September….

The bulk of any relief is likely to be found by reimbursing companies for the cost of carbon dioxide emissions trading certificates that utilities currently price into their electricity bills.

Berlin successfully argued at an EU summit in December that energy-intensive industries should be not be forced to buy emission permits between 2013 and 2020 because companies would shift production overseas. It now wants to go further by compensating energy-intensive companies in the intervening years. Officials are also considering whether to reward big power consumers for their role in balancing the electricity network during peak-load periods.