Germany could face a gap in power supply if the rollout of renewable energy power generation stalls, the federal regulator warned in a report on Wednesday.
Germany’s power supply is guaranteed by 2035, but only if Europe’s biggest economy achieves its energy policy goals of boosting wind and solar power generation and builds flexible capacity such as gas-fired power plants, the Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, said in a Security of Electricity Supply report approved by the German government today.
“Under certain scenarios, a supply gap could arise,” Germany’s Energy and Economic Affairs Minister, Katherina Reiche, wrote in the report.
Gaps could occur if Germany lacks enough flexibility in the electricity system to meet demand from new consumption patterns such as electric vehicles and heat pumps.
Germany needs a more pragmatic approach to its energy policy, minister Reiche said at a conference earlier this week.
Currently, around 60% of Germany’s electricity comes from renewable energy sources, Reiche added.
“Yes, we should continue to invest in renewables but we also need to ensure our security of supply and its affordability,” the minister said on Monday.
Germany is looking to boost its solar and wind power generation sectors with ambitious goals and legislative changes to ease and streamline the permitting processes.
Despite the push, Germany is still off track to reach the official targets in onshore and offshore wind.
Germany has a target to install 10 GW of wind power capacity every year to have renewables account for 80% of its electricity generation in 2030.
In July, industry associations warned that Germany’s offshore wind power installations stagnated in the first half of 2025, with 9.2 GW as of June 30, the same as at end-2024.
Moreover, Germany’s wind and solar power output slumped to the lowest in ten years between January and April amid unfavorable weather, highlighting the challenges to security of supply in the energy transition.
As a result of weak solar and wind generation, Europe’s biggest economy ramped up gas and coal generation by 10% from a year ago, with the share of hydrocarbons in its energy mix rising to the highest in seven years.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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