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The German government moved to curb renewable growth on Tuesday as neighbouring Poland drafted a law to offer renewable generators long-term subsidies.
Germany’s “Energiewende”, or energy transformation, has prompted a surge in renewable generation in recent years, pushing up power costs and rendering conventional power stations unprofitable.
Under a draft law approved by chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet, onshore wind and solar PV installations will each be capped at 2.5GW a year and offshore wind at 6.5GW to 2020. Subsidies will be scaled back and green generators made to compete in the market from 2017.
The legislation still anticipates a substantial role for renewables, with a plan to generate 40-45 per cent of electricity from green sources by 2025 and 55-60 per cent by 2035.
Germany will continue to shield heavy industry from renewable energy costs in a package worth €5.1 billion a year. The German government had to satisfy the European Commission the exemption would not give German industry an unfair trade advantage.
Meanwhile, Poland’s government set out draft plans to offer renewable developers the chance to sell their energy at auctions for a 15-year fixed price.
Poland has a target to get 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 but has historically shown reluctance to move away from coal generation, which provides nine tenths of its electricity.
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