A damning special report just released by Germany’s Federal Audit Office on the implementation of the Energiewende (transition to green energy) concludes that the transition is lagging far behind its ambitious targets, both in terms of expanding renewable energies and building the necessary infrastructure.
Symbol image. Collapsing turbine. Image cropped here.
Things aren’t going well for German green energies.
The Bundesrechnungshof (Federal Audit Office, synonymous to the USA’s Congressional Budget Office) also found other serious problems with the country’s revamping of its energy supply.
There is also a considerable risk that security of supply will be jeopardized due to the huge supply gap created by the phase-out of nuclear energy.
Expensive, uncompetitive
Moreover, thirdly, the Federal Audit Office found that electricity prices will continue to rise and that the transition to green energies is a costly undertaking that consumers will have to finance via the feed-in surcharges. Germans not only will have to deal with an unreliable supply, but one that is painfully expensive.
Environmentally harmful
But it gets even worse for the current Socialist-Green government: The environmental compatibility of the transition to green energies is not even guaranteed, according to the report. There is a risk that the expansion of renewable energy power plants will have a negative impact on the environment, e.g. through paving over land, deforestation, destruction of biotopes and the death of birds and bats.
Accelerate the digging deeper into a hole?
The Federal Government must act urgently to get the energy transition on track, the report recommends. The German report contains a number of recommendations that the Federal Government should implement in order to accelerate the energy transition and ensure energy supply security.
The Federal Audit Office’s most important recommendations include:
- The Federal Government must simplify the approval procedures for renewable energy power plants and increase the incentives for an accelerated expansion.
- Expand and modernize the electricity grids to enable the transport of renewable electricity from the windy regions in the north to the consumption centers in the south.
- Develop storage technologies, to compensate for fluctuations in electricity generation from renewable energy power plants.
- Promote energy efficiency in order to reduce electricity consumption.
- Strengthening international cooperation, as it is a global challenge that can only be mastered through international cooperation.
“Nothing to do with reality”
German economics minister Robert Habeck (Greens) was annoyed by the findings and conclusions of the Federal Audit Office. According to ARD German public television, Habeck called the conclusions “Amazing perception that has nothing to do with reality.”
The problem, however, is that most experts believe that it is Robert Habeck who is out of touch.
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March 8, 2024 at 11:45AM
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