Making Waves: Germany setting renewable energy goals

By Kate Hassett

Making Waves: Germany setting renewable energy goals
Last week, 78% of Germany's electricity was generated by renewable energy sources.

On July 25th, Germany reached an extraordinary milestone whereby they managed to generate 78% of the country’s electricity – sourced from renewable energy.

Breaking their previous record of 74% renewable energy usage, Germany is now showing the rest of the world what it means to go green, and how easily it can be achieved – with the right investment.

According to an analysis by Craig Morris, such an incredible milestone was made possible by various weather events leading up to that week. Severe storms in the north, where most of the wind turbines are situated, lead to a huge influx of energy. Simultaneously, in the south, where most of the country’s solar panels are situated, the weather saw high levels of sun, boosting the collaborative energy production.

This combination helped to catapult Germany’s total renewable-generated energy into record breaking levels.

Whilst the levels are the highest they have ever been, this heavy focus on renewable energy is not a recent tactic. Germany’s commitment to renewable energy, has seen approximately 120 billion euros invested into low-pollution energy, in the past decade.

The share of energy that comes from renewables in Germany, including the energy that is used for heating and transportation, is currently three times higher than in the U.S.

Angela Merkel has been outspoken about wanting to push Germany’s renewable energy targets, to double the share by 2035, and hopefully reduce dependence on nuclear energy.

Are these policies that our countries should be adopting?

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