“Energiewende finds supporters”

An 18 percent drop in global expenditure on renewable energy last year does not mean the energy transition is losing support, Stefan Merx writes for Handelsblatt. Figures compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance merely reflected that costs for installing renewables in general are falling substantially, while investment in certain energy transition sectors clearly went up, Merx explains. Among these are offshore wind energy, where investment increased by 40 percent, and the digitalisation of energy systems, such as smart grids, he writes. “Digitalisation is a megatrend in the energy economy,” Stefan Kapferer, president of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), told Handelsblatt.

For more information, read the CLEW dossier New technologies for the Energiewende.