Germany recently passed the 20 percent mark for renewable energy in the electricity mix. And the federal KfW bank group has introduced a new plan to further accelerate this shift to renewables, with increases in multimillion euro business loans now available.
As more renewable energy is generated, energy management and storage are also receiving increased focus. Germany Trade & Invest, together with representatives of Germany’s six E-energy model regions, will be at this year’s E-world from February 7-9 in Essen to highlight opportunities for international companies in these growing market segments.
“With such a large share of renewable energy in the mix, it is becoming more urgent to implement smart grid and storage technologies to balance the fluctuating supply. Germany is making an exceptional team effort to achieve our ambitious goals, with businesses, banks, researchers and the government all working together” said Heiko Staubitz, renewable energy expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.
The new KfW plan outlines efforts to ease the financial burden of a wide-ranging shift to renewable energy. Previously, loans were available to small businesses for their efforts to move to renewables, and these have been expanded to cover companies with annual revenue of up to 3 billion euro. At the same time, loans are available to support research and development of energy storage, transmission, production, and efficiency techniques with grants up to EUR 25 million, marking an increase.
In light of last year’s decision to phase out nuclear power, Germany is further ramping up investments in renewable energy. Already, Germany features the world’s strongest photovoltaic market, with nearly half of all global installations worldwide. In wind power, Germany leads Europe in total installations and is currently preparing for a major expansion in the offshore segment.
Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.
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Offshore WIND staff, February 06, 2012