Representatives of the 27 member states approved a package raising the current goal of 32% to 45% by 2030. About 22% of the EU’s total energy consumption came from renewables in 2021, meaning the new target will double the amount in less than a decade.
The renewable mandate is not a bad idea per se, but the German opposition to nuclear power is incredibly harmful, and compounded by their inexplicable support for so-called e-fuels.
They shouldn’t have shut down their old nuclear reactors before having an alternative to coal and gas. But nuclear is not the future. It is not economically feasinle to build new reactors and renewable energy is cheaper.
Meanwhile nuclear is not profitable without subsidies or government garanties.
Solar wind and batteries are the best way to generate electricity riggt now.
The e-fuels will ensure the “survival” of internal combustion engines, and obviously somebody is lobbying like crazy for that to happen.
Is that really a problem? if I run a generator off hydrogen that was produced as a biproduct of a nuclear reactor thats still green energy. It only produces water when burnt after all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrofuel
This is the e-fuel that I was referring to. When burnt it releases carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere. It’s better than nothing, but it doesn’t decrease the carbon footprint. We should really be focusing on capturing CO2 and not releasing it back into the atmosphere.
Hydrogen cells like you described are a promising alternative.