Renewables law proposal not ambitious enough – Lower Saxony state premier

The German government’s draft update of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) is not ambitious enough, as it fails to take into account developments that increase the need for renewable electricity, Stephan Weil, premier of wind power state Lower Saxony told business daily Handelsblatt. Weil said that the draft “in no way takes into account” that the European Union is currently debating raising its 2030 climate target, which means that renewables expansion must get an additional boost. He added that “the electricity demand forecast on which the draft is based is far too conservative,” something that has been criticised by other politicians, researchers and NGOs. Weil called for a well-based projection that takes into account the “undeniable developments”. It would “serve no one's interests if we delude ourselves about our electricity needs,” he said.

Germany's landmark Renewable Energy Act - credited with making solar and wind power two of the most important electricity sources in the country - is undergoing another reform. The goal of the act is to make renewables grow faster, help them become cheaper and more accepted by neighbouring citizens so that climate and clean energy targets can be reached. The cabinet had approved its draft in September to enable a share of 65 percent renewables in 2030 power consumption and a greenhouse-gas neutral electricity sector before 2050. However, environment minister Svenja Schulze has said that the country will have to increase renewables' share in power use to "at least 75 percent, maybe even 80 percent" by 2030, depending on the new EU climate target currently under discussion.