It is not only the Russian gas freeze that underlines the need for the rapid expansion of renewable energies. Around the world, massive droughts and catastrophic floods also show the consequences of extreme weather events, which will increase with climate change. In July, German politicians decided to significantly expand wind power in particular. "Overall, however, the pace must be increased", explains Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group. 

Extreme weather events dominate the headlines worldwide: In the northern hemisphere, waves of heat and drought are causing crops to wither and rivers to dry up. In the Alps, glaciers are melting faster, devastating floods in Pakistan are causing a humanitarian catastrophe. It is still disputed to what extent all this can be attributed to climate change. "What is clear, however, is that time is pressing", says Voigt. "We have to push ahead with the expansion of green energy, also to make us independent of Russian gas supplies." And that this is not only worthwhile for the environment, but also for investors, is proven by the current production figures from the past month.

The very hot and sunny August brought the solar energy producers in Germany an increase in production, the target values were exceeded by six percent. In Spain, the plants only reached 85 percent of the target value in August. "However, this was due to the fact that the large production plants had to be throttled back or turned down because of the strong solar radiation", explains Voigt. In Italy, the production targets were essentially achieved (94 percent).

Last month brought a lot of sun, but only little wind. Therefore, the production of wind energy was clearly below expectations. The target achievement was 61 percent. However, since the wind harvest in the previous months was more abundant, the target achievement since the beginning of the year amounts to 95 percent.