National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAP) were made by all Member States of the European Union in 2010. These plans provide detailed roadmaps of how each Member State expects to reach its legally binding 2020 target for the share of renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

 in their final energy consumption required by Article 4 of the renewable energy Directive (2009/28/EC). In these plans Member States set out the sectoral targets, the technology mix they expect to use, the trajectory they will follow and the measures and reforms they will undertake to overcome the barriers to developing renewable energy.

Main targets in Germany

In National Action Plan, the Federal Government estimates the share of renewable energies in gross final energy consumption to be 19.6 % in 2020. The share of renewable energies in the electricity sector will thereby amount to 38.6 %, the share in the heating/cooling sector will be 15.5 %, while in the transport sector it will amount to 13.2 %http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/doc/national_renewable_energy_action_plan_germany_en.pdf

Main incentives and laws in Germany

In the Renewable Energy Law (EEG), sector- specific tariffs are set for electricity from renewable energies fed into the public supply grid. The amount of compensation follows the principle of cost-covering compensation and is based on the specific electricity production costs of the specific sectors.
KfW's funding program Renewable Energy (Erneuerbare Energien) section Standard provides low-interest loans for investments in installations for electricity production in accordance with the EEG, cogeneration plants and for small heat production installations. In program section Premium low interest loans with repayment subsidies are granted for renewable energy heat produced in large installations.
KfW funding programs for energy-efficient construction and renovation (CO2 building renovation program), which promote the development of renewable energies, are Energy efficient Construction (Energieeffizient Baue), Energy Efficient Renovation (Energieeffizient Sanieren) or Energy-efficient Renovation – Local Authorities (Energieeffizient Sanieren – Kommunen) and Social Investment - Building Refurbishment (Sozial Investieren- Energetische Gebäudesanierung).
Heat-and-power Cogeneration Act (KWKG) regulates the funding of old and new combined heat and power (CHP) plants and the development and construction of heating networks into which heat from CHP-plants is fed.
Guidelines on the promotion of mini-CHP plants promote through investment grants the new construction of CHP - plants up to 50 kW el.
Energy Tax Act (EnergieStG) provides tax relief for energy products used for combined heat and power production if the CHP plant has a monthly or annual efficiency of at least 70 %. There is also a tax exemption for biogas which is combusted immediately after production or is used in a CHP-plant.
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/doc/national_renewable_energy_action_plan_germany_en.pdf

Key players in Germany

• BEE - German Renewable Energy Federation
• German WindEnergy Association
• Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE
• BBE - German BioEnergy Association
• C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V. - Network for development and marketing of agricultural resources
• BSW - Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft i.G.
• BDH Bundesindustrieverband Deutschland Haus-, Energie- und Umwelttechnik e. V.

See also

• Energy policy of the European Union
  Energy policy of the European Union
  Although the European Union has legislated in the area of energy policy for many years, and evolved out of the European Coal and Steel Community, the concept of introducing a mandatory and comprehensive European energy policy was only approved at the meeting of the European Council on 27 October...
  
  
• Renewables Directive
  Renewables Directive
  The Renewables Directive is a European Union directive which mandates levels of renewable energy use within the European Union. Published 23rd April, 2009, its official title is 2009/28/EC...
  
  
• Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources
  Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources
  The Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources is a European Union directive for promoting renewable energy use in electricity generation. It is officially named 2001/77/EC and popularly known as the RES Directive....
  
  
• Renewable energy in Germany
  Renewable energy in Germany
  The share of electricity produced from renewable energy in Germany has increased from 6.3 percent of the national total in 2000 to over 20 percent in the first half of 2011. In 2010, investments totaling 26 billion euros were made in Germany’s renewable energies sector...
  
  
• National Renewable Energy Action Plan
  National Renewable Energy Action Plan
  NREAP - National Renewable Energy Action PlanNational Renewable Energy Action Plans were made by all Member States of the European Union in 2010...
  
  

External links

• Agency of Renewable Resources (FNR)
• Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV)
• Federal Ministry of Environment (BMU)
• Official Commission page on the RES directive
• Official Commission page on renewable energy
• National Renewable Energy Action Plans
• "Renewable energy: the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources" - from the official “Summaries of EU legislation” website
• Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Renewable Energy Projections as Published in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans of the European Member States