Renewable energies become most important source for new residential heating
Clean Energy Wire
Two thirds of new residential buildings completed in 2018 in Germany are heated with renewable energies. Renewables were the primary energy source in almost half (47.2 percent) of the total of 107,200 new residential buildings built that year, replacing gas as the most important energy source for the first time, according to the country’s statistical office Destatis. Gas was the primary energy source in 43 percent of new residential buildings.
Lowering heating emissions is key to reaching Germany’s climate targets because buildings are responsible for a large share of the country’s CO2 output. But progress has been slow, in particular in existing building stock, as modernisation rates to save energy remain well below government targets. The government has said it finally wants to boost modernisation with tax breaks, after failing to introduce this measure for years.
