The development of renewable energies in Germany is an impressive success story. Renewable energies’ share of total electricity output reached 11.8% in 2006. On the thermal energy market, renewable energies’ share is already 5.9%. The share of primary energy consumption reached 5.3% in 2006 and thus already exceeded the Federal Government’s target of 4.2.% by 2010. In the biofuels sector, 2.4 million tonnes of biodiesel and 0.5 million tonnes of vegetable oil were sold in 2006, which means they supplied 5.2% of total fuel needs. The statutory framework conditions have proved very successful and highly effective – above all in the case of the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) and the Market Incentive Programme. The German Energy Agency has been involved in the most diverse projects – from the input of wind energy to the large-scale industrial production of second-generation biofuels.

Building on its success in its domestic market, the German renewable energies industry has been able to secure significant world market shares in all technologies and to establish a leading position in the research and development field. Wind energy is one of the most important growth markets. In 2006, the German wind industry was able to strengthen its international leading position. German manufacturers and suppliers achieved a turnover of 3.6 billion euros outside Germany in 2006. Compared with a total turnover of 6 billion euros, this represents an export quota of 61%. According to details provided by the industry association, the German solar sector (both solar thermal and photovoltaic) has been able to achieve a fivefold increase in turnover abroad from 190 million euros to more than 1 billion euros in the last three years. When it comes to solar thermal electricity generation, Germany has a leading position worldwide in the research and application-based development of solar thermal power plants. German businesses have a very broad know-how base and can cover some 70 to 80% of the value creation chain with their technologies. Good export opportunities for German companies in the domain of bioenergy technologies are envisaged and in some cases have already been realized in components for biomass power plant and biomass heating systems. The German hydro power industry is already very well-positioned on international markets and has an export quota of roughly 80%. Additionally, German companies have a leading technological market position in the area of geothermal power in the heat pump sector and in the area of deep heat mining.

The German Renewable Energy Export Initiative, which is run under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, has played a great part in this success. It aims to inform German businesses about interesting export countries and to help make German technology and companies known abroad. This is accomplished, for example, through business travel programmes and targeted marketing measures. Let me just present some figures and successes of the last few years. The number of companies listed in the “Renewables made in Germany” product and business catalogues rose from 40 in 2004 to 100 in 2006. Since October 2004, we have conducted over 100 business trips to more than 40 target markets with over 550 participating German companies. The “Renewables made in Germany” technology exhibition, which provides basic information about renewable energies especially for decision-makers in the realms of politics, business and research, has been presented in more than 65 countries.

Its importance is clearly demonstrated by the diverse activities that have already been carried out by the Export Initiative in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, for example, a total of more than 20 visits to this region have been offered since 2004. Key countries here have been especially Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia. The German School in Singapore and the Goethe Institute in Seoul were equipped with demonstration installations as part of the DENA solar roof programme. Since their installation, these plants have been contributing to technology transfer and underline the potential of “Renewables made in Germany”. The technology exhibition was well-received by an interested public at more than ten locations in the region from Delhi to Sydney. Furthermore, the demand for DENA market analyses proves that German businesses in the renewable energy sector have a strategic interest in the region.

The challenges of energy supply security and climate change are global issues and as such they also define the political coordinates in the region. In the face of strong economic growth and the resultant rapid rise in the demand for energy, great emphasis is being placed on a sustainable energy supply. Policymakers have been attentively following developments in Germany. By the middle of 2006, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea had introduced price incentives for electricity from renewable sources based on the German model.

High levels of solar radiation and the favourable conditions for rapid biomass growth give rise to enormous opportunities especially in the fields of solar power and bioenergy. Australia, for example, is a promising market for the entire range of solar technologies. Solar cooling and solar thermal power plants, in particular, could supply a large proportion of total energy needs. The great potential of palm oil production has led countries like Indonesia and Malaysia to make increasing use of German mechanical engineering and plant technology know-how in the production of biofuels. Indonesia has the world’s greatest technical potential in the geothermal power sector with an estimated capacity of 27,000 megawatts. The government has published ambitious goals here that promise great business opportunities.

In principle, India offers very good natural conditions for the use of renewable energy sources. However, government subsidized electricity prices, large differences in statutory regulations at the state level and problems with the protection of intellectual property rights mean German companies’ involvement has been largely limited to wind energy. Beyond that, there are various projects in the solar and bioenergy sector, especially within the development cooperation framework. Substantial market opportunities will develop in both these areas in the future.