German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze on Monday said that the ruling coalition had agreed on amendments to a new energy law that will help the country to boost renewables and generate 65% of its electricity from green sources by the next ten years. German lower and upper houses are expected to vote on the new energy law on Thursday and Friday, respectively, with a view that it would be enacted starting on January 1, 2021.
Under the law, local communities will be granted financial incentives to construct onshore wind farms. The new rule will also promote geothermal and biomass energy while encouraging more investments in large- and small-scale solar installations. Germany will also charge lower taxes to householders and apartment dwellers who get electricity from solar panels.
The new legislation came after the EU agreed on Friday to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030, from 1990 baselines. Thirty percent of the EU’s €1.8 trillion ($2.2 trillion) COVID-19 relief package will be spent on climate action. Renewable sources make up 46.3% of Germany’s power demand this year. Earlier this month, the country scrapped a charge levied on green hydrogen producers.
