German Government Pushes to Expand Eco-Friendly Energy Target Output

2030 Wind Power Target Increased from 71GW to 91GW... Solar Power from 100GW to 150GW

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Major foreign media reported on the 2nd (local time) that the German government is preparing a bill to significantly increase the amount of eco-friendly energy generation.

According to the draft of the bill prepared by the German government, the wind power generation target for 2030 will be expanded from the existing 71GW (gigawatts) to 91GW, and the solar energy generation target for 2030 will be increased from 100GW to 150GW.

As of 2020, Germany's wind power capacity was 54.4GW, and solar energy capacity was 52GW. The new bill essentially plans to increase wind and solar energy generation to about twice and three times the current levels, respectively, by 2030. It also includes a plan to secure about 7.8 billion euros in funding next year to achieve this.

The new bill being promoted by the German government appears to be a follow-up measure after the Constitutional Court ruling on April 29 that raised the greenhouse gas reduction targets.

On April 29, the Constitutional Court ruled that the German Climate Change Act, legislated in 2019, must be amended. The court pointed out that the greenhouse gas reduction plan after 2030 is insufficient and that this places a burden on future generations.

One week after the court ruling, the Merkel administration announced that it would advance the carbon neutrality achievement target set for 2050 in the Climate Change Act to 2045, five years earlier. Additionally, it announced that the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target would be raised from 55% to 65% compared to 1990 emission levels.

With the upward adjustment of greenhouse gas reduction targets, there is a need to further increase eco-friendly energy generation.

However, the bill vote is expected to take place after the general election on September 26.