Encouraging popular acceptance of measures necessary to secure future gas and power supply is of crucial importance, the economy ministry said in a 10-point energy policy paper released today. The population needs to be far better informed about the importance of existing nuclear power, efficient coal-fired power plants, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and new high-voltage power lines to link up to future offshore wind farms, the paper said. The paper does not call for new nuclear power plants to be built, in line with the policy stance of Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-of-centre CDU party.

General acceptance is also needed when it comes to energy efficiency measures, the implementation of which is too often rejected on cost grounds, the ministry said. Other important energy policy measures for the government are the further speeding up of approval procedures for necessary infrastructure, and of innovation processes in new energy technology, particularly with regard to renewables.

The economy ministry paper calls for an “energy constitution”. This would stipulate, among other things, that the government investigate the consistency of regulatory and subsidy laws to ensure that there is no overlapping or contradictory legislation. The “energy constitution” would enshrine the three core energy policy principles of economic viability, security of supply, and ecology.

On an international level, Germany, and Europe as a whole, need to diversify their gas supply sources and their gas transport routes, the paper says. It recommends that Germany develops an LNG terminal.