The new US President Donald Trump wants to significantly slow down climate protection efforts in the United States. It remains uncertain how effectively Trump will be able to implement his plans. “However, it would definitely be a mistake for Germany and Europe to follow the USA down this road“, comments Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group.

Right at the start of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order for the USA's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. He intends to shift the country's energy policy back towards fossil fuels and strengthen domestic oil and gas production: drill, baby, drill! Trump also seeks to obstruct the construction of new wind turbines and dismantle the climate protection investment programme of his predecessor Joe Biden - the Inflation Reduction Act. “This will set climate protection in the USA back by years“, says Voigt.

In Germany and Europe, some voices are calling for a reduction in climate protection measures to cut costs for businesses and enhance competitiveness. “But that would be a fallacy, as renewable energies, even in combination with storage, now offer the most favourable energy generation option for new power plants in Germany. Abandoning the Green Deal would therefore be short-sighted and also not in line with the goal of greater geopolitical independence“, warns Voigt. Instead, there is now an opportunity to attract green technologies and companies to Europe through targeted funding and investment, as conditions in the USA are deteriorating. In terms of industrial policy, Europe could therefore benefit from Trump's anti-climate course.

The German solar plants in the aream portfolio delivered moderate results in January with a target achievement of 88 per cent: Limited sunshine and weather-related yield losses, such as module icing, among other things, negatively impacted performance. In Spain, performance was solid at 91 per cent despite weak irradiation levels. Italy was hit the hardest: very poor irradiation levels and operational issues following repairs for damage caused by the collapse resulted in only low yield of 85 per cent of the target value.

The German wind turbines in the aream portfolio produced only average yields in January despite technically stable operation under regionally varying wind conditions. Only 83 per cent of the target was achieved.