Germany sets aside $130 billion for renewable energy

• 12 years ago (2011-10-21)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Nuclear 640 Renewables 752

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Germany’s Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (German Development Bank, KfW) will underwrite renewable energy and energy efficiency investments in Germany with $137 billion over the next five years. In addition, the German government’s 6th Energy Research Programme has made $274.6 billion available for joint funding initiatives in energy storage research over the next three years.

The new KfW loans and projects are designed to underwrite a broad array of energy areas, including energy efficiency and smart grids, as well as wind and solar energy generation. Last year, KfW financed 40 percent of all photovoltaic installations in Germany.

By 2020, the German government intends that renewable energy sources will account for 35 percent of Germany’s energy output, and 80 percent by 2050. Germany currently produces 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.

Industry expert Tobias Homann said: “With the decision to abandon nuclear power earlier this year, it was clear that the road ahead would be challenging. But Germany is in a very promising position to be the first industrialised country to rely entirely on renewable energy.”