Germany in second place for renewables investment
Germany has overtaken China to become the second most lucrative country for renewables investment due to power market reform hastening and moving away from fossil fuels.
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UK, London: Germany has overtaken China to become the second most lucrative country for renewables investment due to power market reform hastening and moving away from fossil fuels.
In a yearly ranking of the leading 40 global renewable energy markets by consultancy EY, the United States held first place, with Germany climbed one place to become number two for the first time in a decade.
Germany was the biggest procurer of Russian gas in Europe until the Ukrainian war and has also been reliant on nuclear and coal.
“While this is a major milestone in its progress to accelerated energy transition targets, there is likely to be an increase in the use of coal in the short term, to reduce the effects of intermittency in the power supply,” the report said.
Germany plans to have renewables make up 80 % of its energy mix by 2030. Currently, renewables account for 46 %, up from 41 % in 2022.
The United States remained at the top position, supported by the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which scheduled $369 B for investment in energy security and climate change.
However, there is a grid lock of renewables projects awaiting connection to regional grids. Even though the offshore wind sector has grown, the U.S. administration’s goal of having 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 is likely to be missed by 10 GW.
Source: Reuters