The German government stepped up its drive to boost renewable power Wednesday when it unveiled plans to roll out 2,800 kilometres of high voltage power lines across the country, dpa reported. Costing about 10 billion euros (13.2 billion dollars), the newpower lines are to carry energy from wind turbines in the northern part of the country to the south. "This is a big step in the switch to renewable power," said Economics Minister Philipp Rosler, adding that the government's plans to build the power lines was "absolutely on schedule". The move forms part of the country's so-called Energiewende (the turn around in energy policy), which was launched last year after Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to abandon nuclear power and promote renewable energy sources following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The Energiewende is likely to play a major role in next year's national election. Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier described the Energiewende as the biggest challenge facing Germany since unification more than two decades ago. The government also decided Wednesday to increase the amount of funds available to support improving the energy efficiency of buildings from 300 million euros to 1.8 billion euros next year.
