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Renewables supply 14% German energy

Posted: 09/01/2008

Renewable energy made up more than 14 percent of Germany's power consumption in 2007, up from almost 12 percent in 2006, with wind as the main contributor, the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) said on Tuesday. Energy derived from wind, solar, water, biomass and thermal heat accounted for 9 percent of Germany's total primary energy consumption last year, reducing the country's CO2 emissions by 115 million tones, the association said.

While growth of renewable energy production was stronger in Germany than anywhere else in the world, the association cautioned that government plans to cut support for the industry may hamper future growth.

The BEE referred to the effects of higher taxation for biofuels, which took its toll on the sector's growth last year as its share of Germany's overall fuel consumption rose only slightly to 7 percent from 6.6 percent in 2006.

"The renewed tax increase for biofuels at the beginning of this year will threaten the survival of the sector's mid-size companies," the BEE said in a statement, calling for a cancellation of the latest tax hike.

The fast-growing industry is often criticized for relying partially on government support, but the BEE argued the use of renewables also saved the equivalent of 8.6 billion euros ($12.6 billion) in costs for environmental damages last year.

Europe's largest economy was also able to lower its dependency on energy imports with the help of renewables, it said.

Reuters  
 

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