Electricity costs have skyrocketed in the wake of the Ukraine war, placing a heavy burden on many businesses and households. A massive expansion of renewable energies would not only increase security of supply and reduce CO2 emissions. "Increased production of wind and solar energy, as studies show, can also ensure cheaper electricity prices," explains Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group.

In the wake of gas prices, electricity prices have also gone through the roof in recent weeks. The federal government wants to absorb the higher costs for companies and households through various measures, which costs taxpayers billions of euros. A study by the consultancy Energy Brainpool now shows that this price increase would have been lower if renewable energies had been significantly expanded beforehand. 

The scenario calculation assumes an additional installed capacity of 20 gigawatts of onshore wind energy and 30 gigawatts of solar energy. The result: the higher wind and solar power capacities would have reduced the electricity price by an average of 12 to 24 percent per month between September 2021 and August 2022. The total expenditure for electricity in this country would have been around 19 billion euros lower. "This shows that there is no alternative to expanding renewables in the long run," says Voigt.

Last September brought good yields for the existing solar plants in Germany and Spain, but fewer hours of sunshine in Italy. In Germany and Spain, 102 percent of the target values were achieved. In Italy, production was eleven percent below the target value. Overall, the target achievement was 98 percent. "The results prove that investors do well to spread their plants over different locations," says Voigt.

In Germany, September was another low-wind month, so production here was below expectations (12 percent below target). However, as the wind had been stronger in spring and early summer, the target achievement since the beginning of the year still amounts to 95 percent.