Survey: Population finds energy import dependency threatening

The German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) commissioned a representative public survey of 2190 respondents by YouGov in March 2026 to gauge opinions on the import dependency of fossil fuels. A large majority of respondents find this to be a threat.

Currently, energy crises are occurring frequently, making the supply of oil and gas uncertain, such as the Ukraine war or the war against Iran and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which even affects chip production. This also leads to rising fuel prices, with diesel prices breaking record after record.

Population wants reduced dependency

The solar industry asked two questions. "Do you wish for the federal government to reduce dependency on imports of fossil fuels (e.g., gas and oil) through increased use of renewable energies and storage technologies?" 68 percent of the survey participants answered "Yes" or "Rather yes", 20 percent were against it and answered "(Rather) no". Twelve percent did not provide an answer or were undecided.

The second question was a bit longer: "The wars and crises of recent years have repeatedly led to rising energy prices for households in Germany. To cover its energy consumption, Germany is currently heavily reliant on imports of fossil fuels (e.g., gas and oil) from abroad. How do you personally perceive the dependency on imports of fossil fuels (e.g., gas and oil) from abroad?" 78 percent of respondents answered that they perceive this as "rather" or "strongly" threatening, while 16 percent perceived it as "rather" or "not at all" threatening. Six percent were undecided or did not provide an answer.

BSW-Solar explains: "Plans by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs to massively cut funding for solar power systems and grid access for solar and wind power plants from 2027 onwards would contradict this clear public will, which has been expressed across society." Carsten Körnig, CEO of the German Solar Industry Association, warns: "They would slow down the expansion of renewable energies and significantly prolong the dependency on natural gas and oil imports. This would come at a high cost to the German economy and the public."

The association states that according to the Federal Environment Agency, solar power replaces 33 percent of electricity from natural gas, 55 percent of electricity from hard coal, and 12 percent of electricity from lignite. With a share of around 18 percent of domestic electricity generation, photovoltaics overtook lignite (around 14 percent) and natural gas (around 16 percent) last year.

BSW-Solar further explains that solar power plants have hardly any operating costs, which allows them to displace expensive gas power plants in the electricity market and thus sustainably lower wholesale electricity prices. "In total, the savings from solar energy for households, businesses, and industry already amount to over six billion euros per year, according to an analysis by the consulting firm Enervis commissioned by BSW." The association elaborates that analyses by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems show that the strong expansion of renewable energies, particularly photovoltaics, since 2022 has been crucial in ensuring that the impact of rising natural gas prices on wholesale electricity prices has been significantly lower than during the last energy crisis. "However, the expansion of renewable energies is not yet sufficient to be independent of geopolitical shocks."

(dmk)