German companies call for investments in transmission grids
Germany should use its public budget surplus for preventative investments in transmission grids, transportation infrastructure and other areas, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) writes in a press release. Investments that could “prepare for hard times” are currently possible “without raising taxes or neglecting the restructuring of public budgets”, according to the BDI. The federation, which estimates German GDP growth to reach about 1.5 percent in 2017, regards these investments as key for ensuring the country’s continued economic well-being. In the context of energy transition, there needed to be greater emphasis on cost efficiency in order to make it an “export hit”, BDI’s president Dieter Kempf said in the press release.
Read the press release in German here.
For background, see the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s power grid.