German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized on Tuesday the importance of expanding both the country's renewable energies and broadband network.
"Challenges posed by climate change have not disappeared," Merkel warned in a speech at the Association of Local Utilities (VKU). Instead, the pandemic would be a reminder to "always keep such crises and risks in mind."
The change of Germany's energy supply was of "utmost importance," said Merkel, citing "ever-growing demand and an ever-growing share of renewables in electricity consumption."
Referring to the official target of 65 percent green energy in electricity by 2030, Merkel stressed that current efforts were "not yet enough." At the same time, it would be an important task to make power grids as intelligent as possible.
Fluctuations that were inherent in wind and solar power had to be compensated. "The smarter these grids are, the better," stressed Merkel. Additionally, "smart grid technologies" were needed for the integration of electric cars and heat pumps.
As part of digitalization, the expansion of high-performance gigabit networks would be particularly important, Merkel noted.
Less than 14 percent of German households currently have a fiber-optic connection that enables data transmission of at least one gigabit per second, according to the Federal Network Agency.
"From my perspective, it is advantageous for municipal companies that build and operate all kinds of supply networks to take advantage of synergies when expanding the network," Merkel said, adding that the companies could "lay fiber optic cables or at least empty conduits for fiber optic cables in addition to water and power lines."
Editor: Leon
