The share of renewables in German energy production almost stagnated in 2025, data showed on Monday, as concerns grow about a shift away from green policy under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
This figure had risen sharply in recent years as Europe’s largest economy strives to achieve the target of green energy making up 80 percent of the energy mix by 2030.
But last year, energy from sources such as wind, solar and hydropower accounted for 58.8 percent of the mix, up slightly from 58.5 percent in 2024, the energy regulator said.
In 2021 this was only 43 percent.
The share of wind energy, which is still Germany’s largest energy source, fell slightly, while solar energy rose due to the growth in production capacity, the regulator said.
The group Environmental Action Germany said the near stagnation in the share of renewables last year was partly due to a lack of wind in the first half of 2025.
But the NGO nevertheless fears an impending slowdown in the shift of green power under Merz’s coalition, which took power last year, Constantin Zerger, the group’s head of energy and climate protection, told AFP.
He said Economy Minister Katherina Reiche “has announced several times that she wants to slow down the expansion of renewable energy sources, which is of course very, very dangerous.”
Critics point to measures ranging from a planned expansion of gas energy to proposals to eliminate some solar subsidies as evidence that Reiche is trying to slow the green shift and prioritizing helping big companies.
Merz has pushed back on criticism that he is undermining the fight against climate change, saying his government is taking a more pragmatic approach to the energy transition that aims to keep costs manageable.
In the previous government, the Greens supported the Economy Ministry and pushed for ambitious measures to speed up the transition – which were welcomed by environmentalists but caused unrest among companies over additional burdens.
Last year, the share of solar energy in the German energy mix surpassed that of lignite, also known as lignite, for the first time.
But the share of two other fossil fuels, coal and natural gas, rose.
