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By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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If Germany doesn't turn on the turbo, the energy transition will fail.
The vbw came to this conclusion in a recent study.
There are problems, especially when it comes to network expansion.
Munich – “No matter whether federal, state or local: the energy transition needs more speed.” vbw Managing Director Bertram Brossardt warned with clear words at the press conference for the 12th energy monitoring.
In almost all areas, the restructuring of the German energy system is failing to achieve the set goals.
There is almost no noticeable improvement compared to the previous year - on the contrary.
Lack of power grid expansion |
2,000 kilometers |
|---|---|
Planned increase in wind energy per year |
12 gigawatts (national) |
Addition of wind energy per year |
3.4 gigawatts (national) |
Key year by which all electricity generation should take place without greenhouse gases |
2050 |
vbw warns – the energy transition can only be achieved with more effort
For the twelfth time, the Association of Bavarian Business Analyzed.
V. (vbw) the status quo of the energy transition in Germany.
It draws an interim balance in four categories - security of supply, affordability, energy efficiency/renewable energies and environmental compatibility.
The benchmark for the assessments is always the federal government's self-imposed goals, although the vbw also draws a direct comparison with the Free State of Bavaria.
This year, the forecast is extremely bleak: Germany took a top spot in terms of power outage times, but in almost all other categories the traffic lights were deep red.
An Egyptian goose walks on solar panels, Hilden, Germany.
If Germany doesn't turn on the turbo, the energy transition will fail.
The vbw came to this conclusion in a recent study.
© IMAGO/Robert Poorten
This affected all areas from network expansion and the interventions of energy operators, to industrial and commercial electricity prices as well as energy productivity, to the share of renewable energies in the electricity mix.
“The fact is that time is dwindling and the pressure to act increases with each passing year,” explained Brossardt.
Germany is winding down, but there is not much sign of a real turnaround yet.
Transmission lines are in short supply – 2,000 kilometers are missing
For example, the vbw boss criticized the current status of network expansion.
“The backlog in Germany is around 2,000 kilometers,” he said, warning that there should be no further delays in either the large transmission lines or the regional distribution network.
The security measures that the federal government had to take to stabilize the power grid would have reached a new record in 2022.
The state had to pay five billion euros.
Brossardt warned: “We have to do it instead of just wanting it.”
The federal government must give “clear priority” to the expansion of the networks and renewable energies, demanded the vbw.
“Slimmer” planning and approval procedures are necessary here.
The country also needs significantly more wind power to manage the energy transition.
The association showed a clear gap between the expansion of solar and wind power plants, which occurs both at the federal level and specifically in the Free State of Bavaria.
Solar energy works, but wind energy doesn't work at all
For comparison: At the federal level, the long-term goal is to increase wind energy by twelve gigawatts per year.
Germany currently has 3.4 gigawatts.
We are much further along with solar energy;
Of the long-term goal (20 gigawatts of new expansion per year), we are already at 14.1 gigawatts of expansion.
In Bavaria the gap widens even further.
With an increase in wind energy of 38 megawatts, Bavaria is well behind its target (800 megawatts);
In some districts there was even a dismantling.
When it comes to solar energy, however (3.4 gigawatts of expansion, 1.9 gigawatts were planned for the short term), Bavaria is in a stronger position.
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However, that is not enough.
“We now have to do again within seven, actually six, years what we have achieved in the last 13 years,” said Dr.
Almut Kirchner on this.
Nowadays, the expansion is at least a little easier, partly because of the lower costs on the solar market.
“In Bavaria, the pace of expansion of wind energy must increase twentyfold,” concluded Brossardt.
The federal government's goals for renewable energies
When it comes to the energy transition, the federal government is more or less strictly following established values.
By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions are expected to fall by 65 percent, the reference year is 1990. By 2040 it should be 88 percent.
The share of renewable energies in the electricity mix should be around 80 percent by 2030 and from 2050 all energy generated in Germany will be free of greenhouse gases.
At least that's what the plan looks like.
However, the energy transition does not come for free.
The Federal Republic continues to incur massive costs.
Eon boss Leonard Birnbaum recently warned about this.
The background was a price increase by the two large energy companies EnBW from Karlsruhe and the Oldenburg company EWE.
The government must act quickly, otherwise costs risk rising disproportionately.