Germany's renewables industry is booming

Germany's renewables industry

Once again a nation's renewable energy industry has bucked the trend in its overall economic performance. This time its Germany that has seen its renewables sector boom through 2009, supplying over ten percent of the country's energy for the first time.

German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said, upon unveiling of the renewable data Wednesday in Berlin, "We have made delightful progress. Germany is a global market leader in the field of renewable energies."

Germany's renewable energy sources include biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar energy, and these technologies are accounting for more and more of the country's energy mix year on year. In 2008 renewables accounted for 9.3 percent of energy produced, last year that rose to 10.1 percent. Renewables produced 94 billion kilowatt hours of power in 2009, a share of 16.1 percent, up from 15.2 percent in the previous year.

Successful government legislation

Successful government legislation and stimulus funds - such as the subsidising of the solar PV industry and the now-famous EEG renewable energy law - have helped the clean tech sector steer Germany's economy through the worst of the global recession, and puts the country in a comfortable position when it comes to reaching its targets of boosting renewables in the energy mix and at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Roettgen said it was "very realistic" that Germany before 2020 reaches its target of a 30 percent renewable share in the power mix and by the same year reducing its emissions by 40 percent compared to 1990 levels, as reported by United Press International.

Last year saw the investments in renewable energy rise to US$23 billion, over the same period the German economy as a whole contracted five percent, the industry also contributed 300,500 jobs.

Despite the recent troubles that have emerged in Germany's solar energy industry involving the government feed-in tariff (over-production has lead to supply outstripping demand in Germany), the country's renewable energy industry is proving highly successful and is showing all the signs of continued growth through 2010 and beyond.

It will also do no harm at all to Europe's ambition to generate 20 percent of energy from clean sources by 2020.

Related Articles:

Germany achieves top grade in solar policy | EU invests in 'engaging' with RE | EC gives pipelines and power a boost

Daniel Jones

Daniel is a Politics and Philosophy graduate from Cardiff University where he also worked as a section editor on the award winning student newspaper. After university he joined an IT support company where he was a B2B online writer. He loves anything to do with sport and joined GDS in July 2009.

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