The industry forecast 2020 describes the development of renewable energies which industry experts in companies and associations expect, if the current legal framework is retained and further developed. The forecast is based on the analysis of the previous development and well-founded future assumptions about the future development of renewable energies, power consumption, conventional power plants and network infrastructure. This leads to the following results:

• All renewable energy sectors can undergo dynamic further development by improving efficiency, developing new potential and modernising existing systems.

• The forecast quantity of power produced from renewable energies for 2020 already equals 47 percent of the gross electricity production. Renewable energies will therefore guarantee a secure and affordable power supply.

• In 2020, renewable energies will make up a total of 278 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of the overall electricity production. The installed capacity will grow to 111 gigawatts (GW).

• Renewable energy power plant capacities and power production will almost triple by 2020, the average annual growth is over 9 percent.

• Even if conservative assumptions are made, there will be a sufficient amount of secured power production at any time in 2020. This include times of annual peak load. 

• About two thirds of the power produced from renewable energies (189 TWh) will be supplied by the fluctuating sources wind and solar radiation. The supply behaviour of the remaining fossil and nuclear power plants and the use of existing storage hydro power plants will increasingly depend on the supply of renewable energy. 

• The capacity utilisation of all standard power plants without combined heat an power will drop.  Contrary to a widespread opinion, the need for natural gas for power production will decrease.

• Above and beyond those already under construction in 2008, no additional fossil power plants will be required to guarantee a secure power supply in Germany in 2020.

• In the year 2020, renewable energies will avoid more than 200 million tonnes of CO2 in the power sector alone. This makes them climate protector number 1.

• The development of renewable energies will greatly relieve the general economy. In the year 2020, they will reduce the external costs of environmental and climate damage by 6.3 billion Euros, and they will save fossil energy imports totalling 22.6 billion Euros. This far outweighs the costs for the development of renewable energies in the power sector. As a result, the incremental costs for the renewable energy feed-in law in the year 2020 will only amount to 2.4 billion Euros.