Most of Germany’s pro-Energiewende voices think that Germany will far exceed its 2020 target of 35% clean energy. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, a Green think tank, is definitely among them. It argues that Germany could — with the right policies — go 100% renewable by 2050.

But for Germany to do it, argues the report “A European Union for Renewable Energy,” there has to be greatly improved cooperation. The EU targets, road maps, and action plans are steps in the right direction, but they fall far short of a comprehensive EU common energy policy.

The report, commissioned by the Heinrich Böll Foundation European Union and prepared by independent experts, argues that most European countries’ current energy grids are antiquated, nationally organized, and designed for fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources. The grids are composed mostly of one-way transmission cables connecting large production facilities, like coal-firing plants and nuclear reactors, to residential and commercial hubs.

via Germany’s Grid and the Market: 100 Percent Renewable by 2050? | phockeno.