Low levels of investment create a 600 billion euro shortfall in Germany's energy transition

A joint progress report by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries and EY reveals that Germany will require investments of around 600 billion euros to meet its 2030 energy transition targets.

According to BDEW head Kerstin Andreae, "The results show: the climate targets cannot be achieved at the current pace." The greatest obstacle is the "much too slow" increase in renewable energy, which will require 351 billion euros of funding. This is followed by the development of electricity grids (126 billion euros), generation capacities for climate-neutral gases (12 billion euros), and the targeted electrification of the transport sector (9 billion euros).

Metin Fidan of EY commented that it is unlikely that the current rate of expansion is sufficient to reach the 2030 targets. This would necessitate more than doubling photovoltaics and more than tripling onshore wind.

A report suggests that Germany's energy transition goals are making "sluggish progress" due to a host of issues such as a shortage of qualified personnel, land availability, expensive and long authorization processes, and a lack of essential raw materials.

This lack of progress could be attributed to the fact that there has not been an economic impact caused by investments in the energy transition. The country is aiming for greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045 and has set an initial goal of reducing emissions by 65 percent by 2030 as compared to 1990 levels.