Renewables and energy industry lobby groups criticise German energy policy

Germany’s energy policy has not lived up to its climate and renewables expansion targets and has failed to adequately integrate citizens in planning procedures, Simone Peter of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) and Stefan Kapferer of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) said during a debate on public radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur. “The Energiewende [energy transition] has a big benefit, but this has to be explained to people,” Peter, a former Green politician, said, adding that the government has chosen to rather give in to industry interests and failed to provide a clear roadmap for its energy transition strategy. Energy industry lobby group head Kapferer said there had to be clarity on the expansion of renewable energy sources and grid development as well as in the promotion of combined heat-and-power systems and storage technology. “The transition to renewables will always be accompanied by interventionist policies,” Kapferer said, adding that the conflict over the Hambach Forest showed that “decision makers let themselves be used by opponents of the project.”

Find the radio programme in German here.

See the CLEW article Wind industry calls for special auctions amid expansion slowdown and the interview with researcher Quaschning about a German solar power policy for more information.