Compared to the same period last year, the proportion of green electricity increased by six percent.
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Berlin The factions of the traffic light coalition have cleared the way for the planned massive expansion of renewable energies. Representatives of the SPD, Greens and FDP announced an agreement on the final details on Tuesday.
The deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Matthias Miersch, expressed his satisfaction that every federal state now has to make around two percent of its land available for wind power. State regulations can be overridden under the bill if a country fails to meet this goal. “This is a clear signal that the expansion of renewables now has the highest priority,” said Miersch.
The previously sluggish approval practice is to be accelerated by classifying renewable energies as being in the overriding public interest and serving public safety. The deputy parliamentary group leader of the Greens, Julia Verlinden, pointed out that the proportion of green electricity in 2030 should now be 80 percent.
FDP parliamentary group leader Lukas Köhler explained that it is up to the federal states to decide how they achieve their goals. “This also means that they can continue to set minimum distances to residential buildings,” he emphasized. The energy package has already been passed by the cabinet and is formulated as a federal law in such a way that the approval of the federal states in the Bundesrat is not necessary. The FDP parliamentary group had recently requested changes.
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The agreement will now ensure that the EEG green electricity levy, which was reduced to zero on July 1, will be permanently abolished, said Köhler. “The financing of renewables via the electricity bill is finally history.” According to information from the dpa news agency, the goal of achieving a climate-neutral electricity system by 2035 has also disappeared from the drafts. The FDP had demanded that this be deleted.
Green electricity share increases to 49 percent
In the first half of 2022, strong winds in winter and lots of sunshine in spring caused the proportion of green electricity in Germany to increase. According to preliminary calculations by the BDEW industry association and the ZSW research institute in Stuttgart, renewable energies covered 49 percent of electricity consumption in the first half of the year. That is six percentage points more than in the same period last year.
By far the most important source of green electricity are wind turbines on land, their share increasing from 17 to 21 percent. Solar systems increased from ten to twelve percent, according to figures published on Tuesday.
Total electricity consumption in Germany fell within a year by two billion kilowatt hours to an estimated 281 billion. Sun, wind and other renewable sources generated 139 billion kilowatt hours, while conventional energy sources accounted for 159 billion kilowatt hours.
Figures on the exact shares of coal, gas and nuclear power are not yet available. The difference between the total of 298 billion generated and the consumed 281 billion kilowatt hours was exported.
BDEW boss Kerstin Andreae called for a rapid expansion of renewable energies in view of the dependence on Russian gas. “They are the key to a green power and heat supply, an industry that produces hydrogen and climate-neutral mobility.” There is an urgent need for action, especially when it comes to onshore wind energy. “The biggest stumbling block here is still the lack of space.”
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