Federal Minister Robert Habeck today opened the Climate Neutral Electricity System Platform. Together with representatives from business, science and civil society, the platform will discuss how the electricity market can be made fit for the electricity system of the future, which is largely based on renewable energy sources.

Federal Minister Robert Habeck: "As we work on the climate-neutral electricity system, we can use the experience gathered during last year's crises. The European electricity market was exposed to a triple crisis: the high gas prices after the start of the Russian war of aggression on all of Ukraine, the low availability of French nuclear power plants and the drought. We can now say that the electricity market has proven to be extremely resilient. Europe has one of the best functioning electricity markets in the world. We must preserve these positive achievements while making the market fit for the future. This means that we must always think of the electricity system in European terms. Anything we change in our electricity market design has a direct impact on our neighbouring countries."

The basis for the discussion is Germany’s clear commitment to achieving the 1.5 degree target and climate neutrality by 2045, Habeck said. The electricity supply of the future will be secure, sustainable and affordable. Wind and solar power will be the backbone of the electricity system of the future. The basis for all our planning is that the share of renewable energy rises to 80% of the electricity supply by 2030 and continues to grow thereafter, that the phase-out of coal is brought forward to 2030 if possible, and that there is an increase in electricity demand as a result of sector coupling.

Minister Habeck went on to say the following: "In the debate on the climate-neutral electricity system, we will now focus on how to achieve affordable electricity prices, how to provide the right investment incentives to boost investments in renewable energy and hydrogen power plants and how to ensure flexibility of the system. In addition to expanding the grid, we need regional control of power generation and loads such as electrolysers near offshore areas. Furthermore, renewable electricity should be able to be used locally instead of being curtailed due to grid bottlenecks. I look forward to the debate in the coming months - with bright minds contributing their different views".

In the coming years, the electricity system will change very significantly. Our goal is to achieve climate-neutral electricity generation based almost entirely on renewable energy. We seek to increase the share of renewables to 80 % by 2030. To achieve this goal, the electricity market must undergo fundamental change. The Climate Neutral Electricity System Platform will be used to discuss options for the further development of the electricity market design in four thematic working groups. The debate will take place on an open-ended basis and serve to develop well-founded proposals. The different views of the stakeholders of the electricity market will be gathered and collated in a participatory process. One group will focus on efficient investment incentives for renewable energy, and another one on controllable capacities to ensure security of supply at all times. Other working groups will work on how to increase the flexibility of electricity demand and how to use market signals that serve the stability of the grid. The proposals will be collected in a plenary session. The Platform kicks off today with a first plenary session.
The discussion held by the Platform will include the current European proposals for a short-term, targeted reform of the European internal electricity market. A more fundamental reform of the European internal electricity market would require an in-depth analysis to which the Platform can make an important contribution. In this respect, a distinction must be made between the short-term perspective (current EU debate on electricity market design) and a more medium-term perspective. The Climate Neutral Electricity System Platform will serve to conduct an in-depth discussion on the medium-term vision on the basis of precise analyses.