Perhaps the biggest energy package in decades: the Bundestag now wants to speed things up with green electricity. In the individual federal states, however, the designated areas should be dealt with fairly.
On Thursday, the Bundestag passed an extensive legislative package for a faster expansion of green electricity from wind and sun in Germany. Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said the package was the largest in the energy sector in recent years, probably decades. This would implement necessary and urgently needed changes.
The proposed legislation still has to pass the Bundesrat. The share of electricity generated from renewable energies in electricity consumption is to be increased to at least 80 percent by 2030; it is currently just under 50 percent. In order to achieve the goal, 2 percent of the entire federal area should be designated for onshore wind turbines, which is more than double.
Different goals in the countries
The federal states are now to be legally obliged to provide more space. Different targets apply to the individual countries because there are different requirements for the expansion of wind energy. This had stalled in recent years, mainly because too little space had been designated.
Habeck spoke of a fair and just distribution. At the same time, he said that the countries would be held accountable. The expansion goals would have to be shared in a joint effort.
The expansion of renewable energy plays a key role in the federal government’s strategy to achieve climate targets. In addition, dependence on fossil fuels should be reduced in the medium and long term.
A central lever for the expansion should be that renewable energies are in the overriding public interest in the future and serve public safety. This is intended to speed up the approval process and facilitate court proceedings.
