The German government has approved a draft law (Gesetzentwurf zur Beschleunigung des Energieleitungsausbaus) for the modification of the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act 2011.
The government estimates that the development of the high and extra-high voltage network grid is not fast enough to accompany the energy transition process (Energiewende) and to meet the additional development of renewable power generation sources across the country.
Germany is still lagging behind with the network expansion due to the length of the approval process. With this new regulation, the idea is to accelerate the procedures of the grid's development plan without lowering environmental standards.
The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) forecasts that renewable energy should account for at least 50% of the domestic power production by 2030 and priority will be given to feeding in and transporting electricity generated from renewables.