03Jun 2015 
Working together to achieve more – this is what the Energy Efficiency Networks initiative is all about. However in this case, "more" actually means "less": using less energy than we have done in the past. Launched back in December, our joint work is now beginning to take shape.
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Germany has set itself the target of making its building stock virtually climate-neutral by 2050. This means improving energy efficiency in buildings as well as using a greater proportion of renewable energy for heating and hot water. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is supporting the work to make buildings sustainable through a whole range of different funding programmes.
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"We have to make sure that our sustainable energy supply is secure for the long term," said Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel at the G7 Energy Ministers Conference in Hamburg. In their end-of-session communiqué the G7 Energy ministers agreed on various priority areas and lines of action that can help to put a sustainable energy supply on a more secure basis.
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First "Dan Tysk," then "Nordsee Ost": two offshore windfarms comprising a total of 128 wind turbines have gone on line off the coast of Schleswig-Holsteins in recent weeks. In the years to come, the two windfarms could supply more than 700,000 households with clean, climate-friendly electricity.
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Highly efficient, clean, affordable – and intelligent besides: technological innovation is shaping the energy system of the future. Last year the Federal Government increased its spending on energy research to around 819 million euros.
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Comfortable, economical and intelligently networked: the buildings we will be living and working in in the future will be able to deliver a lot and do a lot. To make this happen, scientists are working on innovative materials, technologies, systems and approaches – also in the BMWi's Research Initiative for Energy-optimised Building Construction, or EnOB for short.
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Assistance rates determined in competition instead of fixed funding rates prescribed by the administration: funding for ground-mounted photovoltaic installations under the Renewable Energy Sources Act is currently being re-organised on the basis of this principle. The first pilot auction has now been successfully completed.
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Entries are invited: industrial and manufacturing companies have until 15 July to submit their successful energy efficiency projects for the Energy Efficiency Award 2015 presented by the German Energy Agency (dena). The competition comes with a total prize fund of 30,000 euros.
Find out moreHigh-performance storage units can balance out the pronounced fluctuations in the input of energy from renewable sources – but the currently available storage capacities and technological options are not yet enough. For this reason, the Federal Government has set up the "Energy Storage Research Initiative." A status seminar has now been held to draw an interim balance.
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