Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the EU is examining whether Europe's energy supply can be switched more quickly to wind and solar energy. The aim is to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian gas and at the same time accelerate climate protection. Meanwhile, April brought decent sun and wind, bolstering renewable energy yields. "In the case of wind, it was possible to catch up with the target values", explains Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group.

The EU Commission is pressing ahead with climate protection: Last year, it was decided to increase the share of renewable energy sources from 22 percent in 2020 to 40 percent within ten years. Now the Commission is examining whether a figure of 45 percent can already be achieved by 2030, partly by shortening approval procedures. In this way, Europe wants to make itself independent of Russian gas supplies. Brussels estimates that tripling wind and solar capacity could save about 170 billion cubic meters of gas by 2030. "The plans show that renewables are not only good for climate protection, but also bring in a geopolitical dividend", Voigt says.

Last month, the weather played into the hands of wind and solar energy producers: there was plenty of sunshine, along with stormy wind phases. In Germany, photovoltaics exceeded their target values by two percent in April. Things went even better in Italy, where the target achievement was 110 percent. In sunny Spain, on the other hand, yields were ten percent below target.

A few stormy episodes enabled wind energy to recover the shortfalls it had built up in the first three months of the current year: In Germany, yields in April were a whopping 27 percent above target. Year-to-date, target achievement now stands at 104 percent. "It shows once again that weak periods can be compensated for by additional production in other months, which makes the yield more consistent", says Voigt.