Germany’s new coalition government has set out a strategy to accelerate the country’s deployment of renewable power and green hydrogen as part of a plan to triple its emissions reduction rate between now and 2030.

Germany faces an “enormous climate policy challenge” and needs to achieve annual emissions reductions of 36-41mn t over the period to 2030 compared with an average of 15mn t over the last decade, the government says. Emissions rose in 2021, and Germany is expected to miss current reduction targets for this year and 2023.

120-150pc – Targeted expansion of renewables capacity by 2030

"We are starting with a drastic deficit," says minister for economic affairs and climate action Robert Habeck.

"The previous climate protection measures in all sectors are insufficient. But we are doing everything we can to close the gap. We will have to triple the speed of emissions reductions."

The package of measures, which builds on an outline strategy set out when the coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats was formed in November, will be backed by legislation expected to be put forward later this year. The legislation will include a revision of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act to make renewables a matter of national security.

Hydrogen plans

Green hydrogen features heavily in the plan, with the government intending to use a carbon contract-for-difference (CfD) mechanism, based on prices in the EU Emissions Trading System, to support investment in production. The government reaffirmed a previously stated electrolysis capacity target of 10GW by 2030, double the goal set in the previous administration’s national hydrogen strategy, adding it will “maximise the production, trade, transport and application of green hydrogen with a new legal framework”.

Acknowledging the importance of imports to Germany’s hydrogen economy, the government will “further develop” the existing €900mn ($1.02bn) H2Global hydrogen trade scheme, which supports green hydrogen projects outside the EU by offering them guaranteed offtake deals.

The new strategy also calls for the construction of hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants ahead of the country’s phase-out of coal power in 2030.

“We are starting with a drastic deficit” Habeck, economic affairs and climate action minister

Green hydrogen should partly replace natural gas as the power sector aims to be carbon-neutral by 2035, the government says. Natural gas will be phased out by 2045, also the deadline for net-zero emissions.  

“It is clear that gas-fired power plants and gas pipelines can only be operated with non-fossil fuels by 2045, the year of climate neutrality,” the government says in the strategy document.

Germany has been critical of proposals from the European Commission to include nuclear power in its taxonomy for green finance, but it has not openly opposed the proposed inclusion of gas for a limited period, reflecting its need for gas-fired plants to support the country’s energy security through the transition.

Land grab

The government’s strategy calls for a huge expansion of renewable power capacity by 120-150pc by 2030, taking the share of renewables in the generation mix to 80pc from 42pc currently. This implies an increase in annual renewable power production from 240TWh at present to 544-600 TWh by 2030. The targets include 100GW of onshore wind, 20-30GW of offshore wind and 200GW of solar.

“The new federal government is on a mission to drastically accelerate the build-out of renewables and to sweep away all barriers in the way of achieving this,” the government says.

Key measures to deliver the renewables expansion will include mandatory solar PV installations for newly constructed buildings.

The government will also aim to increase the amount of land available for developers of onshore windfarms by working with authorities in Germany’s states to unlock the planning process. The government wants to make 2pc of the country’s landmass available to onshore wind projects compared with about 0.5pc currently. Higher priority will also be given to securing offshore acreage for windfarms.

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Author: Stuart Penson