Energy & Climate Protection

The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) has helped drive Germany’s transition to clean energy for many years. Its tasks include promoting energy efficiency and the further expansion of renewable energy, thereby contributing to climate protection.

Architectural plan and energy efficiency bar Source: © Fotolia.com/johannesspreter

An economically and ecologically balanced and secure energy supply is of prime importance for every economy. In pursuing this objective, as well as those of achieving national and international targets and reaching the main goal of climate neutrality in 2045, the federal government's top priority is to accelerate improvements in energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable energies.

Supporting the transition to clean energy and the pathway to climate neutrality

In order to reach these goals, the federal government has issued initiatives such as the “Immediate Climate Action Programme” and “National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPE)”. These include a broad range of policy measures such as funding programmes and regulation to improve energy efficiency and promote the adoption of renewable energies. The BAFA supports the Ministry in designing many of these measures and manages their implementation.

Funding programmes

Under the programmes “Energy Consulting for Non-Residential Buildings, Machines and Systems” and “Energy Consulting for Residential Buildings” the BAFA gives grants for consultations by qualified engineers.

For many years, a major focus of the BAFA's activities has been the implementation of programmes to promote renewable energies in the building sector on behalf of various federal ministries. The individual grants from the “Federal Grant Programme for Efficient Buildings”, which are administered by the BAFA, are one of the key instruments for energy-efficient refurbishment in Germany. In addition to measures for the building envelope, the grants are also provided for heat generators, including installation or connection to building or heating networks, and for heating optimization.

To decrease costs and speed up the renovation of buildings, components for retrofitting buildings can be prefabricated and assembled off site. BAFA supports concepts and investments in development and testing as part of the innovative funding programme for serial renovation.

With a clear focus on the manufacturing and service industries, BAFA manages the key grant programme for energy and resource efficiency in Germany. Via the "Federal Grant Programme for Energy and Resource Efficiency in Industry", companies can receive federal state aid for their investment in energy and resource efficiency. Such state-aided technologies include energy-efficient motors, fans and pumps, as well as software and sensors to monitor energy consumption within a company. Another major component of the programme is the use of renewable energies to provide heat for industrial processes. Furthermore, the programme funds transformation concepts to help companies map a route to climate neutrality, and systemic optimization projects with regard to energy and resource efficiency in industrial production processes.

In a specialized funding programme, companies receive grants for investments in energy-efficient refrigeration and air-conditioning systems.

In order to decarbonize the transport sector, the BAFA gives grants for the purchase of electric vehicles and cargo bikes, the latter only for companies.

BAFA is also active in the transition of the energy generation sector. District heating systems are an important part of heating sector decarbonization as they allow flexible and clean energy sources to be integrated. In the framework of the "Federal Grant Programme for Efficient District Heating Systems", BAFA supports operators' investments in new heating networks with high proportions of renewable energies and the decarbonization of existing networks.

Operators of combined heat and power plants (CHP) receive funding based on the power share, provided that the plant fulfils certain criteria in terms of efficiency and modern technology. BAFA validates the eligibility criteria and promotes the investment in heating and cooling storage and heating networks supplied by CHP.

The promotion of renewable energy communities plays an important role in ensuring diversity of actors and active local participation. The massive expansion of renewable energies represents a major challenge for all economic players and can therefore only succeed if there is broad acceptance of the energy transition among the public. The funding programme for renewable energy communities covers the costs in the planning and approval phases of wind turbines erected by renewable energy communities.

Advice on several funding programmes is available through the Energy Info Center (EIC). The colleagues there handle telephone and written queries, explain how to apply for funding and provide advice on the entire funding process.

Regulation

According to European and national legislation, non-SMEs are obliged to conduct periodic energy audits. BAFA monitors the fulfilment of the obligation and the qualification of the auditors.
As part of regular emission checks, chimney sweeps are obliged to label non-efficient boilers and are reimbursed by BAFA.

Conceptual and scientific support

The Federal Energy Efficiency Center (BfEE) is part of the BAFA and provides the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action with conceptual and scientific support, covering all aspects of energy efficiency in all sectors. The BfEE provides assistance in conducting research studies, establishing strategies, improving the framework conditions for energy efficiency, conceiving regulation on the national and the European level and developing funding programmes to improve energy efficiency. BfEE monitors Germany's progress towards achieving its national and European obligations in terms of savings and prepares the reports to the European Commission. BfEE is also responsible for the monitoring and assessment of energy services markets with the objective of developing them.

Relief programmes for companies

As part of the Special Compensation Rule for the Renewable Energies Act, particularly energy-intensive companies in the manufacturing sector are partially exempt from the payment of the surcharge for renewable energy. Without this exemption, the international competitiveness of these companies would be damaged. It allows them to continue manufacturing in Germany and also safeguards a large number of jobs in Germany. In addition, railway companies, transport companies with electrically powered buses in regular service, producers of hydrogen and onshore power facilities are partially exempt.

The increased, even doubled, costs for natural gas and electricity represent a particular burden for many trade- and energy-intensive companies, some of which cannot pass on this cost increase in full and are therefore at risk of failure. The Energy Cost Reduction Programme was set up to at least partially cushion the impact of the doubling of costs for natural gas and electricity and thus help stabilize Germany as an industrial location. Subsidies are paid in three stages to cover the increased electricity and gas prices. The subsidy levels differ according to the company's sector of activity, the subsidy rate, the maximum amounts and any operating loss, among other things.

Tasks and support programmes for raw materials

The BAFA grants Anpassungsgeld (adaptation payments) to employees in the hard coal and lignite mining industries: older workers who lose their jobs due to closure, partial closure or rationalization measures approved by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action receive Anpassungsgeld for at most five years until they reach pension age. In addition to the Anpassungsgeld, employees in the hard coal and lignite mining industries receive subsidies for their health insurance and other benefits, so that they do not suffer any disadvantages for their later pension. Anpassungsgeld is therefore an important component of social security for these employees.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) was founded as a coordinating office for the international oil crisis mechanism. In cooperation with the oil industry and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the BAFA implements different measures to manage the consequences of a disruption of supplies in Germany. The BAFA continually informs the International Energy Agency about the supply situation and current trends in the German oil market. For this purpose, data are collected monthly from German oil companies. The results are published in the official oil statistics. They serve as the basis for the observation and analysis of the development of the oil market as well as for political decisions on energy and the environment. Every year, the BAFA requires reports from the German oil industry for the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. The German oil industry's contributions to the fund are defined on the basis of the reports. Under certain conditions, the fund compensates for damage caused by oil tanker accidents.

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