The German National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) was announced in 2014, and its goal is to increase energy efficiency.
The NEEAP package contains several dozens of efficiency instruments, including better energy efficiency financing, a new tender scheme for energy efficiency, and better information and audit activities both for companies and private households.
While this package is still in the process of being implemented, one major instrument, a tax credit scheme for the renovation of buildings, failed to pass due to strong opposition in one of the German states. We will not be able to get 100 percent of our energy from renewables if we continue to consume at the current rate. Energy efficiency is not a nicety – it is indispensable for the success of the Energiewende.
In 2017, the German government adopted its 4th NEEAP incentivizing energy audits. In 2015, that market was already worth nearly 10 billion euros. An estimated 13,000 energy auditors performed approximately 375,000 audits that year. In these audits, building users received advice on what behavioral changes and investments in more efficient devices would lead to greatest energy savings.