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Telecomunicaciones y tecnología

German cabinet passes draft law on offshore wind-source


    BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved a draft law on Wednesday to help the expansion of offshore windparks, a crucial part of the country's planned shift to green energy from nuclear, a government source told Reuters.

    While Germany is making headway with its renewables targets due to rapid growth in the solar and onshore wind sectors, progress on offshore had been slower because of higher than expected costs and questions over liability.

    The draft law aims to overcome some of the risks linked to building wind platforms at sea, which has deterred potential investors, by passing on some of the costs to consumers.

    The proposal is designed to ensure Germany can meet its goal of installing more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore capacity by 2020, and 25,000 MW by 2030, to replace 20,500 MW in nuclear capacity gone by the end of 2022.

    So far only about 220 MW in offshore capacity has been installed.

    (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Madeline Chambers)