Merkel announces massive investment in German energy research
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country's big energy companies had pledged billions of euros of investment in the sector in coming years to help Germany reshape its energy policy.
"The business world has promised to invest 30 billion euros in infrastructure and new plants by 2012," Merkel said.
"We can expect investment of 33 to 43 billion euros (40 to 52 billion dollars) in renewable energy sources," she added.
Merkel was speaking at the close of a meeting with industry leaders on formulating a new energy policy, which she hopes will make Germany less reliant on foreign suppliers and help contain rising energy prices.
She said the government would between now and 2009 set aside two billion euros for funding energy research in a bid to bolster the country's use of renewable energy.
Merkel's stated aim is to draft a new energy policy by the end of next year that will map out Germany's approach until 2020.
"We agree that our objective should be to limit our dependence on imported energy, to prevent increases in the energy price and to take into account the environmental challenges," Merkel said.
She said three working groups would be formed to draft the new energy policy and industry players and the government would hold a follow-up meeting in September.
The conservative chancellor's decision to hold an "energy summit", as Monday's meeting has been dubbed here, is seen as motivated by rising energy prices and Russia's gas war with Ukraine, which affected supplies to Europe.
Economy Minister Michael Glos and Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said earlier that heavy reliance on mineral oil meant that Germany and the European Union would remain dependent on "politically unstable supply regions".
Mineral oil remains the main source of German energy, supplying 36 percent of the country's energy needs. Gas serves as the second biggest source at 22.7 percent. The country imports roughly a third of its gas from Russia.
Merkel said the meeting also touched on nuclear energy, which Berlin has pledged to phase out by 2020 and notably on ways to replace it.
"We will speak of this again in the coming months, with a measure of controversy I suppose," she added.
Merkel is seen as cautious on the politically divisive issue. But industry players are pushing for an extension of the deadline and say nuclear energy cannot be discarded if the country wants to become less dependent on imports.
Monday night's meeting comes amid a heated debate in the European Union on protectionism and forging a common energy policy in which Merkel has proven outspoken.
At an EU summit in Brussels last month, she warned: "The (EU) internal market cannot work unless electricity can flow freely and if we can agree on European champions and not think strictly in national terms."
Germany and Italy have respectively accused Spain and France of trying to block foreign takeovers.
AFP
