Germany to go green more rapidly after Ukraine war - report

Germany is planning a more rapid expansion of wind and solar capacity as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed Europe's largest economy to seek ways for reducing its dependence on Russian gas supplies, shows a draft law prepared by the Economy Ministry that was seen by Reuters and Bloomberg.

Under the draft legislation, Germany plans a significant boost to the volume of wind and solar tenders in order to be able to meet almost all of its electricity needs with green power by 2035 and secure a stable electricity supply.

Solar capacity to be auctioned by the Federal Network Agency is planned to grow to 20 GW annually in 2028 while onshore wind tenders will be raised to 10 GW by 2027 and these volumes will be kept through 2035, according to the paper. The planned reduction in the subsidies for new rooftop solar installations should be also suspended.

Offshore wind capacity should grow to 30 GW in 2030 and reach 70 GW in 2045.

Additionally, although the federal government unveiled at the end of last year a plan to exit coal by 2030, Berlin is said to be considering keeping coal-fired power plants online beyond that date in order to ensure an alternative to its dependence on Russian gas.

The Economy Ministry unveiled the new draft law on Monday and minister Robert Habeck is said to be pushing for its rapid adoption so that it enters into force by the beginning of July.

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