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The Federal Cabinet has approved a bill to reform the Law on Renewable Energy Sources (EEG). This would “set the course for a modern, affordable, but also effective energy change,” said Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU), whose department the draft came from.
The EEG reform envisages, among other things, accelerating the expansion of wind turbines and solar systems and digitizing electricity grids. The law stipulates annual amounts of electricity for solar, biomass and wind power on land and at sea. It should be checked more closely whether this has been achieved in the respective federal states. Every two years the targets are checked based on actual power consumption. The expansion objectives of the biogas plants were also increased. To do this, these power plants should no longer operate 24 hours, but mainly when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.
An increase in subsidies for citizens and municipalities is also foreseen. This should also increase the acceptance of wind turbines.
By 2030, 65 percent of electricity in Germany should come from renewable energy. By 2050, all electricity consumed and produced in Germany should be climate neutral. The aim is for the reform to come into force at the end of the year.
Electric cars could further increase demand for electricity
In recent years, the expansion of green electricity has proceeded too slowly to achieve its objectives. Long approval procedures, lack of space, protests and demands from residents and nature conservationists, in particular, make it difficult to build new wind and solar farms. Germany’s last nuclear power plant will be shut down by the end of 2022. To protect the climate, all coal-fired power plants will be phased out no later than 2038.
Because, among other things, cars are increasingly being assumed to be powered by electricity, critics consider the federal government’s assumptions about electricity consumption too low. In a protocol statement, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) made it clear that she wanted more steps.
