Germany’s economy and climate ministry today announced a more ambitious target of clean energy making up 80% of its power mix by 2030 – a bump up from its previous target of 65%. Currently, 40.9% of Germany’s power mix consists of clean energy.
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Germany accelerates clean energy plan
Economics Minister Robert Habeck told reporters [via Reuters]:
On the one hand, the climate crisis is coming to a head. On the other hand, Russia’s invasion shows how important it is to phase out fossil fuels and promote the expansion of renewables.
Germany aims to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
As for Germany’s dependence on Russian natural gas, Spiegel today describes the German government’s scramble to prepare for a possible natural gas cut-off from Russia in an article titled, “German Industry Prepares for Worst-Case Scenario”:
Around 25% of the energy needs of industry in the country are supplied by natural gas. And around 55% of the country’s natural gas imports come from Russia.
…
Behind the scenes, people are now working under intense pressure to think and plan the unthinkable. Three working groups, each staffed by a dozen experts from key companies and industry associations are developing criteria that could be used to limit or cut off gas supplies to various factories. Legal, technical and financial issues have been placed on the table, and thousands of companies, countless products and millions of jobs are at stake. The issue is so complicated that it will take weeks to come up with a reasonably manageable set of criteria, fears one source involved in the talks. The source describes a “feverish tension” in the talks.
The package introduced today, which was accelerated due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Germany’s precarious dependence on Russian oil, is called the Renewable Energy Sources Act, and it will come into effect on July 1. It contains a clause that identifies clean energy as in the interest of public security.
It also sets a goal for offshore wind to reach at least 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and at least 70 GW by 2045. Its current total offshore wind capacity is 7.7 GW, so that’s a huge increase. Offshore wind made up 4.3% of Germany’s power mix in 2021. Onshore wind made up 15.8%, and solar 8.8%.
Europe’s biggest economy is also expected to make further legislative changes this year to improve energy efficiency in buildings and reduce the transport sector’s emissions, Reuters reports.
Read more: Portugal brings forward 80% clean energy target to 2026 from 2030
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Author: Michelle Lewis
Source: Electrek
