Bavarian industry wants more speed in climate protection

03.03.2026

Source: E & M powernews

The federal government and Bavaria are missing their targets one after the other, according to the 14th Energy Transition Monitoring of the Bavarian Business Association.

The Bavarian Business Association (VBW) is dissatisfied with the energy transition. At the presentation of its 14th Energy Transition Monitoring to journalists in Munich, VBW Managing Director Bertram Brossardt's criticism of politics was clear. The expansion of renewable energies and grids is progressing too slowly, energy prices are too high and the transformation is not making good progress.

His statements are based on the results of the 14th consecutive Energy Transition Monitoring carried out for the association by the Basel-based consultancy Prognos. The authors assessed four parameters using a traffic light system or grades 1, 2 and 3. Prognos' assessment is based on the achievement of the energy transition targets set by the federal and state governments.

Prices for industry have fallen only slightly

The security of supply parameter for Germany received a yellow mark and a score of 2.3. The increase in renewables also received a yellow mark and a score of 2.3. Environmental compatibility was awarded a green mark and a score of 1.0. The three parameters have not changed compared to the previous year.

The positive exception was affordability as the fourth parameter. Although the value remained red, the rating rose from 3.0 to 2.5. The reason: electricity prices for private households fell slightly in 2025. Prices for industrial customers also fell, although prices remained high in a European comparison, said Sven Kreidelmeyer from Prognos at the presentation. However, grid fees have increased significantly since 2008 and are among the highest in Europe.

High costs for system security

The security of supply parameter is still very high in Germany and top in a global comparison, but it is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain security. The costs for system security measures amounted to around three billion euros in 2024. Although the expansion of the transmission grids is making progress, it is still lagging behind original plans.

The expansion of renewables and energy efficiency is also not proceeding according to plan and is also very inconsistent. In photovoltaics, an expansion of 16,300 MW was achieved in 2025, exceeding the annual target of 13,800 MW. Onshore wind energy remained well below the target of 10,300 MW at 4,600 MW.

In Bavaria, the expansion of wind energy in 2025 was only 80 MW compared to the target of 700 MW, explains Almut Kirchner from Prognos. The share of renewable energies in electricity consumption in Germany reached around 54% in 2025 and thus remains below the target path of 80% by 2030.

Gross electricity consumption fell to 517 billion kWh in 2025. However, the decline is not seen as a structural gain in efficiency in the monitoring, but is mainly attributed to declines in production in energy-intensive sectors. VBW CEO Brossardt: "The decline is therefore not an energy policy success, but an expression of a stagnating economy."

Decline in coal-fired power generation

According to the report, Germany recorded a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions to 649 million tons of CO2 in 2023. This corresponds to a reduction of 48 percent compared to 1990 and was mainly driven by the decline in coal-fired power generation in the energy industry.

However, the Prognos experts pointed out that it had now taken 33 years to achieve the almost 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases, and that only a little more than 20 years would be available for the remaining 50 percent if Germany really wanted to achieve climate neutrality by 2045.

Brossardt's conclusion: "As in the previous 13 years, we have come to the conclusion that the progress of the energy transition is not yet satisfactory." But he was nevertheless optimistic. The energy transition has also made progress in the 14th year of monitoring. "Not exactly fast. But walking fast is better than standing still."

In order to make faster progress, players at "all political levels are required". At EU level, Brussels must quickly adapt the state aid regulations, as these have so far prevented an effective industrial electricity price. At the same time, Berlin must not "let up on the speed of expansion under any circumstances" - neither in the expansion of renewable energies nor in the grids. "Germany's energy policy path is the right one. However, we now need to travel this path much faster."

The "14th Monitoring of the Energy Transition" by Prognos is available for download on the VBW website.

Author: Stefan Sagmeister