Germany may have to slow down its planned transformation to green energy, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday in an effort to assuage worries that consumers will bear the brunt of the immense costs of the switch from nuclear. A year before an election, fears of rising energy bills in Europe's biggest economy have become a major concern for Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right government which has ambitious targets for renewables to replace atomic power. Thanks in part to a law that guarantees renewables above-market rates, Germany has seen a rapid expansion in solar panels and wind turbines. With about 25 percent of German power already derived from green sources, experts say it is well on track to hit its 2020 goal of 35 percent. While the rapid expansion was a good thing, "the faster the expansion of green power is, the more it costs," he said. Earlier he had said that the switch to green sources could end up with Germany having a surplus of energy which it would have to reduce. -- SPA
