Mercedes Benz has struck a preliminary agreement with an offshore wind power supplier to supply up to a quarter of its energy needs by 2027.
As energy prices worldwide have soared over the past year, automakers have rushed to react in order to keep their operating costs down drastically.
One of the things car manufacturers are doing is investing in renewable energy solutions.
In this case, the German automaker has chosen to invest in several wind power projects .
Due to the drastic decline in Russian oil imports, German automakers are also required to be creative in managing their energy needs.
Mercedes has two projects that they hope will help limit its dependence on fossil fuels.
One of those projects is an agreement made with a Baltic Sea-based wind energy producer, which will supply 25 percent of the company’s energy needs by 2027.
The company targets that around 70 percent of its energy will come from renewable sources by 2030.
However, the company is facing another problem. Even after completion, the two projects are not expected to generate enough energy to meet their goals.
This is where the German government stepped in to help. The German government supports most of the renewable energy currently being built in Germany in accordance with the recently passed “German Renewable Energy Sources Act of 2023” (EEG 2023).
EEG 2023 sets out several important changes and continues Germany’s dedication to wind and solar power generation.
First, the law sets a goal for 80 percent of Germany’s energy to be produced by renewable sources by 2030, but this set of funding opportunities will also be the last, following the cessation of coal-fired power generation in the country.
Separately, Mercedes and other German automakers will also be a big part of the shift to cleaner energy in the near future.
