Clear goals and targets have been set out for all the areas of the energy transition – electricity, heat and transport. Most of our efforts are targeted on two things: we want our energy supply to be increasingly based on renewables. And we want to use energy ever more efficiently. Our energy transition is guided by the principles set out in the Federal Government’s Energy Concept, by further decisions by the Bundestag, and by European rules and regulations.

The energy transition has seen some significant progress, notably in terms of the electricity market, digitisation, and the latest revision of the Renewable Energy Sources Act. The electricity market has been thoroughly reformed to integrate renewables and pave the way for an electricity market 2.0 fit for taking up a growing share of renewables. The groundwork for new digital infrastructure that links up electricity generators and consumers has also been laid. These various reforms have all been designed to fit in well into the European single market. It is more efficient to take concerted action within Europe than for an individual country to act unilaterally.

A target architecture for the energy transition

The target architecture for the energy transition is designed to ensure that we have our eyes firmly on the objectives of the energy transition as we develop specific policy action. The various quantitative goals set out in the Federal Government’s Energy Concept are ranked according to their importance. This creates a clear structure to work with. As it designs the target structure and the specific policy action, the Federal Government takes care to favour cost-effective solutions that also deliver the best possible level of systems integration for renewables. This is necessary to keep our energy supply affordable.

The monitoring system for the energy transition aims to review the implementation of the Energy Concept and the Federal Government’s programme of measures, and to take action if targets are being missed.

Annual monitoring and the progress report

At the heart of the monitoring system is the annual monitoring report, which shows where we are in the energy transition and what adjustments are needed. Every three years, the monitoring report is supplemented by a strategic progress report. The progress report provides scope for deeper analysis and for the identification of new trends. The report also looks at whether we are on track to reaching our long-term goals or whether we might have to consider taking additional action.

Also involved in the process is an independent commission of experts, who provide a scientific opinion on the Monitoring Report.

You can find out more about the monitoring process and the monitoring reports, and see the comments by the commission of experts from recent years here.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is in charge of coordinating the close and ongoing dialogue between the relevant stakeholders. This dialogue ensures a high level of transparency and helps garner public support for the energy transition.

The energy transition platforms: designed to gather everyone around one table

The Economic Affairs Ministry has established permanent high-level energy transition platforms to facilitate dialogue with representatives from the Länder, business and industry, society, science and research. This allows for solution and strategies to be drawn up for the key fields of action within the energy transition.

Find out more about the five energy transition platforms:

• “Energy Grids”
• “Electricity market”
• “Energy efficiency”
• “Buildings”
• “Research and innovation”

Coordination between the Federal and Länder Governments

The Federal Government and the Länder engage in continuous coordination on the implementation of the energy transition. Twice a year, the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs meet with the heads of government of the Länder for discussions on the status of the energy transition. In addition to this, the relevant federal and Länder ministers also come together for an annual conference where they set their priorities and agree upon the next steps to be taken as part of the energy transition. The institutional coordination is complemented by a continuous co-operation and exchange on technical level.

In its brochure “Who is Who der Energiewende in Deutschland” (PDF: 6,7 MB; in German), the Federal Foreign Office has compiled a list of the key contacts in government, business and society.

The German energy system transformation is embedded in a European energy system transformation. The EU member states have set ambitious energy and climate targets for the year 2030 and beyond in order to guarantee security of supply, competitiveness and climate protection throughout Europe.

The integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) is a new monitoring tool created at EU level to achieve European energy and climate targets. Each EU member state submitted a draft NECP to the EU Commission at the end of 2018. The consulted and developed NECPs must be transmitted to the European Commission by the end of 2019. This will make energy and climate policy in the individual EU member states more transparent and comparable. Find out more (in German).