Soaring renewable energy costs set to stoke German energy debate
Financial Times
Chris Bryant (in Frankfurt)
15 October 2013

The cumulative total that German consumers have spent subsidising green energy is set to pass €100bn next year, a symbolic mark that could fuel further political debate about the country’s costly energy transition to renewables.

The rising cost of Germany’s energy transition from nuclear and fossil fuels to renewables is set be one of the top items on a new German government’s agenda.

Germany aims to raise the percentage of renewables in its electricity mix to 35 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 – from 23 per cent last year.

Germany’s four network operators revealed on Tuesday that the annual cost to support German renewable energy feed-in tariffs is set to rise to €23.6bn in 2014, from €20.4bn this year.

The surcharge added to German electricity bills…