One of Germany’s first solar-powered housing estates is built in the small town of Penzberg in southern Germany.

The Yom Kippur War (October 1973) sparks a global oil crisis. Germany introduces four car-free Sundays in order to save energy.

The Energy Security of Supply Act introduces higher energy reserve requirements and sets a speed limit on German roads. The German Government launches an information campaign on energy saving.

The German Government sets the first energy-efficiency standards for buildings in its Thermal Insulation Ordinance.

The Iran-Iraq War sparks the second global oil crisis.

Enercon develops the first modern wind turbine for production on a commercial scale in Germany.

A major accident occurs in a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety is set up in Germany.

The first road-legal solar vehicle drives through Germany.

Westküste, Germany’s first wind farm, is built. It has 30 turbines.

The German Government launches a thousand-roof programme to fund photovoltaic (PV) plants. East and West Germany are reunited. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes its first assessment report on the global climate.

The Electricity Grid Feed Act requires all German energy suppliers to purchase electricity generated from renewable sources and to feed it into the grid.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro adopts the principle of sustainable development.

Europe’s first mass-produced electric car is launched on the market.

The first United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Berlin, marking the start of talks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Europe decides to liberalise its electricity and gas markets, which had previously been restricted to national territories. The European Commission publishes the first joint European strategy on the development of renewable energies.

The Kyoto Protocol on the global reduction of greenhouse gases is adopted. Since then, 191 countries have ratified the agreement.

Germany adopts a law liberalizing its electricity and gas markets.

The European Commission publishes the first joint strategy for enewable energy, energy efficiency and climate protection in Europe. The Renewable Energy Sources Act enters into force in Germany. It will become the driving force behind the development of renewable energies in Germany.

The German Government decides to phase out nuclear power. Nuclear power plants will be allowed to operate for a maximum of 32 years.

The first Energy Saving Ordinance comes into force. It sets standards for the overall efficiency of new and existing buildings. The first Act on Energy Efficiency Labelling creates transparency on the amount of energy consumed by products such as vehicles and domestic appliances.

Europe adopts a binding emissions trading system for greenhouse gases.

The renewable energy sector employs 160,000 people in Germany.

Emissions trading starts in Europe. All EU member states participate in the scheme.

The EU adopts a 2020 climate and energy package with binding targets for the development of renewable energies, climate protection and energy efficiency. Louis Palmer begins a journey around the world in the Solartaxi, a car powered entirely by solar energy. His trip takes 18 months.

Germany introduces an energy passport for buildings, which provides information about buildings’ energy consumption and efficiency. The Renewable Energies Heat Act stipulates that a certain amount of heat generation must be provided by renewable sources in new buildings.

The Power Grid Expansion Act speeds up the approval process for new high-voltage power lines.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is founded by 75 countries.

The German Government adopts an Energy Concept, a long-term strategy for Germany’s energy supply until 2050. The EU adopts a directive on the energy performance of buildings. From 2021, all new buildings are to be “nearly zero-energy buildings”.

The German Energy Agency (dena) publishes a study on the grid expansion needed for renewable energy to provide around 40 percent of Germany’s electricity.

A major accident occurs in a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. Germany decides to phase out the use of nuclear power for electricity generation by 2022, earlier than originally planned. Eight old plants are immediately switched off. The European Commission published the Energy Roadmap 2050, a long-term strategy for climate protection and energy supply in Europe.

The Kyoto Protocol is extended until 2020 at the United Nations Climate Conference in Doha.

Germany adopts the first Federal Requirements Plan Act on the necessary expansion of the electricity transmission network.

The first completely newly developed electric drive car is mass-produced in Germany.

The first industrial-scale power-to-gas plant goes online in Germany.

Germany reforms the Renewable Energy Sources Act. The Act now includes annual development targets and imposes market integration. The EU agrees on energy and climate targets for 2030: to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent, to increase the share of renewables to at least 27 percent and to reduce energy consumption by at least 27 percent. Germany adopts the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan and launches the Climate Action Programme 2020.

With a share of 27.4 percent in the electricity mix, renewable energy becomes the most important source of energy in Germany for the first time.

The European Commission presents a framework strategy for an energy union. This focuses on five areas:supply security, a fully integrated internal energy market, energy efficiency, decarbonising the economy and energy research.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference meets in Paris and negotiates a follow-on agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.

The Paris Climate Agreement enters into force on 4 November after being approved by the first 55 countries’ national parliaments.

Germany restructures funding for renewable energies. As of 2017, calls for tenders have been issued for all types of technologies.