Altmaier hints at renewables slowdown

Altmaier's plans have set off renewables alarm bells

Altmaier's plans have set off renewables alarm bells

Environment minister Peter Altmaier has implied that Germany's renewables build-up may have to be slowed to gain time to upgrade of power grids to handle more alternative energy.

"Up to the year 2010, we have built up [renewables] according to plan. In 2010 and 2011, growth went up, and now we’re above plan,” Altmaier said during a discussion on scenarios and costs of the renewables expansion. “With the build-up at a very high speed as we’re seeing it now, we’ll experience that the build-up will not only cost money faster, but also cost more money.”

Grid bottlenecks and shutdowns of renewables installations would increase if renewables were to expand too fast, the Environment Ministry warned in a paper preceding the Log in to read complete article.

Become a Recharge subscriber!

Or try our free trial.

Order Subscription

Already a member?

Login