Germany’s Federal Audit Court warns about the failure of the government’s energy transformation plan

According to the international group Tasnim News Agency, quoted by the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, the German Federal Court of Audit He warned that the process of energy transformation in Germany will not proceed without problems and may even fail. According to the information of the Federal Court of Audit, Germany’s energy supply sources are changing and evolving. But the expansion of the network is progressing slowly, and at the same time, consumers and industry bear high electricity costs. Meanwhile, from the point of view of the German Federal Audit Office, the government is not on the path of energy transformation. “The measures taken so far are insufficient to implement the energy transition and therefore pose serious risks to energy policy goals,” K. Scheller, head of the German Audit Office, said in Berlin on Thursday. The basis of this criticism is a new special report from his administration on the implementation of the energy transformation plan in electricity supply. In this statement, the federal government must react immediately, otherwise there is a risk of failure of the energy transition plan. And on the other hand, he has criticized the lack of development of additional production capacity if necessary.

Last year, the German Federal Gas Grid Agency was only able to install about half of the capacity of onshore wind turbines that was planned for 2023. to grant through tenders.

Another critical point in this report is the price of electricity, and in this regard, Germany is among the highest in the European Union. The Court of Accounts also announced: The Ministry of Economic Affairs does not consider the investment costs necessary for the development of electricity in providing electricity costs from renewable energies. Accordingly, the federal government should clearly state the costs of the energy transmission system. In addition, in the end, it should be determined what is meant by affordable electricity supply.

The coalition known as Traffic Light in Germany has set itself the goal that by 2030, about 80% of electricity consumption Covered by wind, water or solar energy. In order to compensate for the fluctuations in the production of renewable energy, gas power plants that will be launched over the years with climate-friendly hydrogen are supposed to be created.

In this way, the Federal Audit Office of Germany has reviewed the process of energy evolution in this country. It has assessed it as too slow, too expensive and too unsafe and has expressed concern about it. According to the assessment of this federal body, the government is in the development of renewable energy and power grids, as well as in creating capacities to support the program. It is backward.

According to the head of the Court of Accounts, the traffic light government only makes “the best assumptions”, but these are unlikely and unrealistic. As electricity consumption is expected to increase by 33% by 2030 as a result of the electrification of the heating and transport sectors, much faster development of wind turbines, solar systems and grids is needed.

But Germany is clearly ambitious. It is backward. “We are now seven years and 6,000 kilometers behind developing the network,” Scheller said. It is also not realistic to add more than 16 GW of renewable energy by 2024 – but this is necessary given the federal government’s target trajectory.

The German opposition has also criticized this.

“Jens Spahn”, the vice-chairman of the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Party, told Tagus Spiegel about this: “Germany has an electricity problem.” He criticized the traffic light for first denying this fact and then downplaying it. Spahn called for a savings plan for energy transmission and a change in pragmatism.

He specifically called for the creation of overhead lines, the reactivation of nuclear power plants and the optimal use of all technologies. “Solar expansion alone costs more than it brings because grid expansion can’t keep pace,” Spahn said. After Russia’s war against Ukraine and the cessation of energy imports from Russia, the German government has put the energy transformation plan on the agenda at a high speed in order to adapt to the new conditions.

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