More electricity from wind and sun, but less gas, oil and coal - the federal government wants to set the course for this with the "Easter package" from Climate and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).

The FDP under Finance Minister Christian Lindner only approved the cabinet decision on Wednesday with the caveat that details still had to be clarified in the Bundestag deliberations.

This should significantly accelerate the expansion of renewable energy.

Climate targets:

By 2030, Germany wants to have reduced emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases by 65 percent compared to 1990.

By 2021 it was only 39 percent.

The key factor here is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is mainly produced by burning gas, oil and coal or their products.

According to Climate Minister Habeck, the pace of emission reductions must therefore triple by 2030.

Ukraine War:

The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has brought Germany's dependence on gas, oil and coal imports from Russia into focus.

"This massive acceleration in the expansion of renewable energies also makes it possible to reduce dependence on energy imports much more quickly," says the draft law.

“The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine marks a turning point for energy supply in Germany.

Energy sovereignty has become a matter of national and European security.”

More green electricity:

In the 22 years since the introduction of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) 2020, the share of green electricity in the electricity mix has increased to around 42 percent.

Now their share is set to almost double within eight years to 80 percent in 2030. According to the climate ministry, the actual generation of electricity from renewables must even increase by more than two and a half times.

Because electricity consumption is likely to be significantly higher in 2030 due to the planned electrification in industry, households and transport.

Around 600 terawatt hours of green electricity should be there by 2030.

In 2021 it was a good 233 terawatt hours.

Lots of wind, more sun

Expansion targets:

In order to achieve this, the government is significantly raising the targets for the expansion of wind power and solar energy.

By 2030, wind turbines on land with a total output of 115 gigawatts of electricity should be available.

That is more than a doubling, in 2020 the installed capacity on land was a good 54 gigawatts.

The speed at which wind is expanded must increase fivefold: from 2025, wind turbines with an output of ten gigawatts are to be built annually on land - in 2021 it was almost two gigawatts.

In 2030, there should be 30 gigawatts at sea - a fourfold increase compared to the 2020 level of 7.75 gigawatts.

The expansion rates for solar energy from photovoltaic systems, for example on roofs and open spaces, should also accelerate significantly - to an annual increase of 22 gigawatts from 2026. In 2021 it was a good five gigawatts.

A total capacity of 215 gigawatts should then be installed by 2030.

"In the outstanding public interest"

Concrete procedure:

In order not only to raise targets, but also to support their achievement, numerous measures are planned, including:

Priority for renewables: The law stipulates that the use of renewable energies is "in the overriding public interest" and serves public safety.

This is intended to speed up the approval process and judicial decisions - complaints are often filed against wind turbines in particular.

The tender volumes for wind and solar power will be increased significantly.

Municipalities and private homeowners should also benefit more financially from this: "New roof systems that feed their electricity completely into the grid will again receive appropriate funding of up to 13.8 cents/kWh," says the EEG draft.

"At the same time, this stimulates the optimal utilization of the roof areas." So far, private photovoltaic systems have generally only paid off if part of the electricity is consumed by oneself - with current electricity prices sometimes exceeding 40 cents per kilowatt hour, all the more so.

Wind and solar projects for citizen energy companies are excluded from tenders and should therefore be possible with less bureaucracy.

The financial participation of the municipalities in wind and solar projects will be further developed.

The conditions for tenders are being changed, especially for offshore wind power, in order to achieve greater expansion dynamics.

Tenders for centrally pre-examined areas are preferred.

"For centrally pre-examined areas, the contract is awarded in the tender to the bidder with the lowest value to be applied for a contract for difference with a twenty-year term," says the amendment to the Offshore Wind Energy Act.

Previously guaranteed purchase prices for electricity are becoming less important for investors in view of the rise in market prices.

Contracts for difference are therefore intended to partially skim off high returns.

The power grid expansion is being accelerated: “19 new grid expansion projects will be included and 17 grid expansion projects will be changed.

One project will be cancelled," says the draft law amending the energy industry law.

The package does not yet contain numerous measures that are only to come in a summer package.

This could include the implementation of the coalition's most recent agreement to bring forward and promote the departure from gas heating.

One of the most important prerequisites for the expansion of wind power is still missing: Habeck is still negotiating with the federal states about the planned target of making two percent of the federal area available for wind energy.

The announced immediate climate protection program, for example for the building and transport sectors, is still pending.