15Jun 2015 
From planes to freight trains and some 44 million cars: Around 28 per cent of energy in Germany is used for transport. That is roughly the same amount as is used by all the private households together. Renewables covered 5.4 per cent of the energy needs of the transport sector last year.
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The Energy Transition is bringing a wave of new jargon into the public realm. This section provides some background on the most important ones, with this week’s edition focusing on "fuel-cell heating systems". A new energy efficiency incentive programme is soon to provide funding for these small power stations designed for private homes. But how does this technology work – and what is so innovative about it?
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This is what Felix Dembski, Head of Smart Grids and Energy at the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) and Ingmar Streese, Director-General of Consumer Policy at the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv), have to say on the subject.
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There have been numerous complaints by local residents about the flashing red lights that illuminate wind turbines at night. The Federal Cabinet has decided to change the relevant administrative rules to make it possible for the warning lights to be used only when needed.
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"If we continue to invest in renewable energy and its multiple economic, environmental and social benefits, employment in renewables will continue to climb. IRENA’s research estimates that doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030, would result in more than 16 million jobs worldwide."
Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Why cooperation with our international and European partners is key to the success of our Energy Transition: follow the link to watch a video recording of the keynote delivered by State Secretary Rainer Baake at the Berlin Conference on Energy and Electricity Economics (BELEC 2015) on 29 May.
On 1 June 2015, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) presented its REmap2030 study for the United States of America. The presentation took place as part of "The Renewable Energy Transition" event in Washington, D.C. In its study, IRENA found that there is potential in the United States of America for raising the share of renewables in the overall energy mix from 7.5% in 2010 to a figure of approximately 27% in 2030. During the same period, the share of renewables in the United States electricity supply could be raised from 14% to close to 50%.
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