4 Reasons Why Germany Is A Renewable Energy Success Story

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–> Also see our much newer article: 10 Huge Lessons We’ve Learned From Solar Power Success In Germany. And keep an eye on all of our Germany stories to really stay up to date on Germany’s renewable energy success.

Berlin

A few weeks ago, I visited Intersolar North America, an exhibition for photovoltaics, solar thermal technology, and solar thermal architecture. The exhibition, which was previously only held in Germany, had an understandably large German presence (including a large beer garden). During my time there, I stopped by the German Energy Agency booth, and was quite impressed with what I found. So, without further ado, here are 4 reasons why we should be paying a whole lot of attention to the Germany renewable energy market.

1. Germany has the world’s largest wind power sector— but had barely any notable wind power at all 16 years ago.

With over 20,600 MW of installed capacity, Germany is the world’s wind power leader. And they accomplished this feat pretty quickly, having had less than 100 MW in 1992. The second place wind leader, Spain, only has approximately 12,000 MW of capacity.

2. The country has the world’s second largest solar power market, despite having extremely cloudy weather.

Germany comes in as number 2 for solar power, with 750 MW of peak capacity as of 2006. However, it is far and away the European leader for photovoltaic capacity, with a capacity of 3063 MW. Additionally, the world’s largest solar cell producer (Q-Cells) is located there. Oh, and the country also has the largest solar thermal market in Europe.

3. Over 214,000 people work in the German domestic renewable energy industry.

With 2.3 million renewable energy workers worldwide, Germany once again takes the cake as a pioneering country. Last year, German companies accounted for 38 percent of the total wind energy market.

4. They have progressive renewable energy laws.

The German government has just agreed on a new climate change legislative package with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions up to 36 percent by 2020. German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel calls it the biggest climate change package in the world.

Posts Related to Germany/Intersolar:

Ariel Schwartz (374 Posts)

Ariel Schwartz was formerly the editor of CleanTechnica and is a contributor at Fast Company, Inhabitat, Triple Pundit, SF Weekly, and NBC Bay Area Online. A graduate of Vassar College, she has previously worked in publishing, organic farming, documentary film, and newspaper journalism. Her interests include permaculture, hiking, skiing, music, relocalization, and cob (the building material). She currently resides in San Francisco, CA.


  • Ed C

    Five years old Plonk.

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  • Baggy

    All of the four points are symptoms of one fact – Germany has no deposits of fossil fuels fo its own and so has no choice but to rely on renewables now that offisl fuel supplies are falling and prices are rising. Same as Spain and nearly every other ‘progressive’ country. The UK has just become a net importer and so the focus shifts towards renewables. It would be great if our governments were really this concerned and progressive, but they’re not, it’s simply down to what resources a country has at its disposal….for now.

  • Baggy

    All of the four points are symptoms of one fact – Germany has no deposits of fossil fuels fo its own and so has no choice but to rely on renewables now that offisl fuel supplies are falling and prices are rising. Same as Spain and nearly every other ‘progressive’ country. The UK has just become a net importer and so the focus shifts towards renewables. It would be great if our governments were really this concerned and progressive, but they’re not, it’s simply down to what resources a country has at its disposal….for now.

    • George

      What about Germany’s domestic coal supply?

  • Baggy

    All of the four points are symptoms of one fact – Germany has no deposits of fossil fuels fo its own and so has no choice but to rely on renewables now that offisl fuel supplies are falling and prices are rising. Same as Spain and nearly every other ‘progressive’ country. The UK has just become a net importer and so the focus shifts towards renewables. It would be great if our governments were really this concerned and progressive, but they’re not, it’s simply down to what resources a country has at its disposal….for now.

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  • Uncle B

    If the U.S. had chosen to be a moral people, and leaving Iraqi oil alone, and following Al Gore, decided to develop the South Western deserts, with the technology of the times – solar/thermal-molten sodium – electricity installations, for the same amount of money as that war cost, ($650 Billion), today, we would be tapping into the largest, renewable, sustainable, energy source the world has ever known. It would have paid every energy bill in the U.S.A. for maintenance fees only – FOREVER! It would be equivalent to an oil field that can NEVER run dry! Low cost electric power, and storeable hydrogen gasoline replacement from the electricity, for all!

    After the millions of murders, and $650 billions of dollars, borrowed from our children’s futures and pissed away, with thousands of our own and others maimed and disfigured for life, millions of families utterly destroyed, ours and theirs, we are no closer to Iraqi oil production than the Iraqis are!

    The next time you hear a blithering idiot spoiled brat, drunken, drug addicted, sociopath, rich Arabic saber dancing daddie’s boy oilman, stand at a microphone and threaten YOUR safety with someone ELSE’S weapons, remember what you lost America, remember, and weep! (also see http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan)

  • Uncle B

    If the U.S. had chosen to be a moral people, and leaving Iraqi oil alone, and following Al Gore, decided to develop the South Western deserts, with the technology of the times – solar/thermal-molten sodium – electricity installations, for the same amount of money as that war cost, ($650 Billion), today, we would be tapping into the largest, renewable, sustainable, energy source the world has ever known. It would have paid every energy bill in the U.S.A. for maintenance fees only – FOREVER! It would be equivalent to an oil field that can NEVER run dry! Low cost electric power, and storeable hydrogen gasoline replacement from the electricity, for all!

    After the millions of murders, and $650 billions of dollars, borrowed from our children’s futures and pissed away, with thousands of our own and others maimed and disfigured for life, millions of families utterly destroyed, ours and theirs, we are no closer to Iraqi oil production than the Iraqis are!

    The next time you hear a blithering idiot spoiled brat, drunken, drug addicted, sociopath, rich Arabic saber dancing daddie’s boy oilman, stand at a microphone and threaten YOUR safety with someone ELSE’S weapons, remember what you lost America, remember, and weep! (also see http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan)

  • Uncle B

    If the U.S. had chosen to be a moral people, and leaving Iraqi oil alone, and following Al Gore, decided to develop the South Western deserts, with the technology of the times – solar/thermal-molten sodium – electricity installations, for the same amount of money as that war cost, ($650 Billion), today, we would be tapping into the largest, renewable, sustainable, energy source the world has ever known. It would have paid every energy bill in the U.S.A. for maintenance fees only – FOREVER! It would be equivalent to an oil field that can NEVER run dry! Low cost electric power, and storeable hydrogen gasoline replacement from the electricity, for all!

    After the millions of murders, and $650 billions of dollars, borrowed from our children’s futures and pissed away, with thousands of our own and others maimed and disfigured for life, millions of families utterly destroyed, ours and theirs, we are no closer to Iraqi oil production than the Iraqis are!

    The next time you hear a blithering idiot spoiled brat, drunken, drug addicted, sociopath, rich Arabic saber dancing daddie’s boy oilman, stand at a microphone and threaten YOUR safety with someone ELSE’S weapons, remember what you lost America, remember, and weep! (also see http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan)

  • chaisak

    Very Usefull Information, thank you very much.

  • chaisak

    Very Usefull Information, thank you very much.

  • chaisak

    Very Usefull Information, thank you very much.

  • wave

    Reality check August 23, 2008

    Don’t forget that Germans pay 1.50 Euro per liter for gas. (That’s over $8.50 per gallon at today’s price and exchange rates. It was over $9 per gallon a couple of weeks ago.) Most of that is for taxes for those nice things mentioned above. I just got a notice yesterday that natural gas and electricity are increasing in price this year again. (We live in Germany.) I’m not complaining, just informing of some of the daily costs of the progress to the normal individual citizens .

    We can become our own private power plant if we are willing to spend 20,000 – 30,000 Euro ($30,000 – $45,000) to have photovoltiac panels installed on our roof. But we can’t use the energy produced directly. It is sold to the electric grid, and we must still buy it back from an electricity provider. Depending on the size and exposure of the roof, and quality of the panels, the costs are supposed to break even in 10-20 years for the average household (just about the time the panels will need replacing–or better electricity producing models will be available at a higher cost.)

    Just about anywhere a constant wind is blowing, a huge wind mill will appear. Some beautiful German country sides now have 10′s if not a hundred or so in wind mill farms. But they are not quiet either. In the stillness of the night you can hear them churning. They are pretty fascinating to watch though. Some will stop spinning when a nice breeze is blowing and others will continue churning away. That seems to be a waste of wind and investment to me.

    In summary, there’s still no free lunch. Switching over to renewable energy sources has its advantages and disadvantage AND it will cost everyone something. The leadership of Germany in this area is costing its citizens–in this great energy experiment. Our energy prices are still increasing here instead of falling as would be expected from a leading country. Those promoting such progress, must realize the costs to the individuals–all individuals that might not even have the resources for computers and connections to respond to these things. If Germany can sell its technology and products to other countries, even with the strong and expensive Euro, then it will continue to be a leader in energy and this experiment and leadership will not break the German bank.

  • wave

    Reality check August 23, 2008

    Don’t forget that Germans pay 1.50 Euro per liter for gas. (That’s over $8.50 per gallon at today’s price and exchange rates. It was over $9 per gallon a couple of weeks ago.) Most of that is for taxes for those nice things mentioned above. I just got a notice yesterday that natural gas and electricity are increasing in price this year again. (We live in Germany.) I’m not complaining, just informing of some of the daily costs of the progress to the normal individual citizens .

    We can become our own private power plant if we are willing to spend 20,000 – 30,000 Euro ($30,000 – $45,000) to have photovoltiac panels installed on our roof. But we can’t use the energy produced directly. It is sold to the electric grid, and we must still buy it back from an electricity provider. Depending on the size and exposure of the roof, and quality of the panels, the costs are supposed to break even in 10-20 years for the average household (just about the time the panels will need replacing–or better electricity producing models will be available at a higher cost.)

    Just about anywhere a constant wind is blowing, a huge wind mill will appear. Some beautiful German country sides now have 10′s if not a hundred or so in wind mill farms. But they are not quiet either. In the stillness of the night you can hear them churning. They are pretty fascinating to watch though. Some will stop spinning when a nice breeze is blowing and others will continue churning away. That seems to be a waste of wind and investment to me.

    In summary, there’s still no free lunch. Switching over to renewable energy sources has its advantages and disadvantage AND it will cost everyone something. The leadership of Germany in this area is costing its citizens–in this great energy experiment. Our energy prices are still increasing here instead of falling as would be expected from a leading country. Those promoting such progress, must realize the costs to the individuals–all individuals that might not even have the resources for computers and connections to respond to these things. If Germany can sell its technology and products to other countries, even with the strong and expensive Euro, then it will continue to be a leader in energy and this experiment and leadership will not break the German bank.

  • http://socialbridges.org/ Saad

    Very interesting facts about Germany’s renewable energy sector.They should help the developing countries with their expertise and that too in a big manner.

    Saad

    http://www.socialbridges.org/

  • http://socialbridges.org/ Saad

    Very interesting facts about Germany’s renewable energy sector.They should help the developing countries with their expertise and that too in a big manner.

    Saad

    http://www.socialbridges.org/

  • http://socialbridges.org/ Saad

    Very interesting facts about Germany’s renewable energy sector.They should help the developing countries with their expertise and that too in a big manner.

    Saad

    http://www.socialbridges.org/

  • Exciton

    Being from Germany I can only tell that Germany Is A Renewable Energy Total Disaster Story.

    Germans pay 40 % taxes on their electricity bill. This money is then redistributed mostly to support inefficient photovoltaic installations. Totally about 3 billion euro annually. Even after 5 years of such heavy subsidies PV merely accounts for 2 % of the total generation. But average electricity costs doubled.

    Needless to say that Germany is not the sunniest place on Earth. Such subsidies bring nothing. Just another corruption scheme.

    Only in Germany CEO of the major local energy company (E.On, 25 % market share) can tell that the whopping average 25 cents per kW*h is in fact “very low price” and electricity should cost significantly more. In fact, average salary in Germany is only 1400 euro per month. Profits of E.On increased several times during the last 5 years without significant increase in generation output.

  • Exciton

    Being from Germany I can only tell that Germany Is A Renewable Energy Total Disaster Story.

    Germans pay 40 % taxes on their electricity bill. This money is then redistributed mostly to support inefficient photovoltaic installations. Totally about 3 billion euro annually. Even after 5 years of such heavy subsidies PV merely accounts for 2 % of the total generation. But average electricity costs doubled.

    Needless to say that Germany is not the sunniest place on Earth. Such subsidies bring nothing. Just another corruption scheme.

    Only in Germany CEO of the major local energy company (E.On, 25 % market share) can tell that the whopping average 25 cents per kW*h is in fact “very low price” and electricity should cost significantly more. In fact, average salary in Germany is only 1400 euro per month. Profits of E.On increased several times during the last 5 years without significant increase in generation output.

  • Karl

    While its great that Germany is doing such a great job in rolling out wind there is some inconsistency that I noted with another article posted on this same site last week ( http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/11/us-kind-of-a-world-leader-in-wind-power-generation/ ). In that article it was noted that the US was at 19,549 MW leading the AWEA to announcing that America is now the US world leader in wind electricity generation. This article, however, states that the leaders are Germany at 20,600 MW of installed capacity and Spain at number two having 12,000 MW of capacity with no mention of the United States. Anyone care to comment on this apparent discrepancy?

  • Karl

    While its great that Germany is doing such a great job in rolling out wind there is some inconsistency that I noted with another article posted on this same site last week ( http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/11/us-kind-of-a-world-leader-in-wind-power-generation/ ). In that article it was noted that the US was at 19,549 MW leading the AWEA to announcing that America is now the US world leader in wind electricity generation. This article, however, states that the leaders are Germany at 20,600 MW of installed capacity and Spain at number two having 12,000 MW of capacity with no mention of the United States. Anyone care to comment on this apparent discrepancy?

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  • bigZ

    Martin K, watch your tone, bud. That’s my sister who you’re talking to. Notice how everyone else that posted was respectful? A post like yours is what makes Americans look bad. We already have a bad enough stereotype.

  • bigZ

    Martin K, watch your tone, bud. That’s my sister who you’re talking to. Notice how everyone else that posted was respectful? A post like yours is what makes Americans look bad. We already have a bad enough stereotype.

  • bigZ

    Martin K, watch your tone, bud. That’s my sister who you’re talking to. Notice how everyone else that posted was respectful? A post like yours is what makes Americans look bad. We already have a bad enough stereotype.

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  • Jay Dawg

    Mac,

    Good points. I really appreciate #3. Why are Americans (I assume Martin is American) so afraid of government subsidies? The government’s role is to spend tax dollars to make our lives better. I’d rather they spend our money on clean energy. I think $500,000,000,000 would have bought a lot of solar cells and wind turbines.

  • Jay Dawg

    Mac,

    Good points. I really appreciate #3. Why are Americans (I assume Martin is American) so afraid of government subsidies? The government’s role is to spend tax dollars to make our lives better. I’d rather they spend our money on clean energy. I think $500,000,000,000 would have bought a lot of solar cells and wind turbines.

  • Jay Dawg

    Mac,

    Good points. I really appreciate #3. Why are Americans (I assume Martin is American) so afraid of government subsidies? The government’s role is to spend tax dollars to make our lives better. I’d rather they spend our money on clean energy. I think $500,000,000,000 would have bought a lot of solar cells and wind turbines.

  • http://c0dx.endd.eu Alexandru Strimbeanu

    Germans… simply the best :) I have a great deal of respect for them and their achievements. They had to pay a lot of money for the first and second world war and still they managed to evolve! They have some of the best (if not the best) roads in Europe. They are clean and civilized, smart… yeah… as I said before, I respect them :)

  • http://c0dx.endd.eu Alexandru Strimbeanu

    Germans… simply the best :) I have a great deal of respect for them and their achievements. They had to pay a lot of money for the first and second world war and still they managed to evolve! They have some of the best (if not the best) roads in Europe. They are clean and civilized, smart… yeah… as I said before, I respect them :)

  • http://atomicinsights.blogspot.com Rod Adams

    Statistics are certainly an important part of understanding the world, but it is important to maintain a questioning attitude. When reading or listening to the sales materials from the “renewable” energy industry, pay attention to the fact that they nearly always talk about “capacity” rather than “production”.

    They also measure capacity in a rather interesting way, especially for solar systems. The nameplate capacity standard for the industry is to report the theoretical production at noon on a clear day near the equator. In other words, solar systems are almost NEVER producing the amount of power that their name plate says they can produce.

    Wind turbine manufacturers are not quite as bad, but they are also guilty of favoring capacity numbers rather than production numbers. Most people do not understand that the power production is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. When there is a nice 5 knot (2.5 m/s) breeze that feels good, the power output from a turbine is 1/8th as much as it is when the wind is blowing at a more intense 10 knots (5 m/s) and 1/64th as much as when the wind is blowing at the normal turbine design speed of 20 knots (10 m/s).

    Just remember, solar, wind, and biofuels are often being pushed by some very large corporate interests (GE, Siemens, BP, ADM) whose sales teams are driven by the very same kinds of incentives as the ones that drive those evil fossil fuel salesmen.

  • http://atomicinsights.blogspot.com Rod Adams

    Statistics are certainly an important part of understanding the world, but it is important to maintain a questioning attitude. When reading or listening to the sales materials from the “renewable” energy industry, pay attention to the fact that they nearly always talk about “capacity” rather than “production”.

    They also measure capacity in a rather interesting way, especially for solar systems. The nameplate capacity standard for the industry is to report the theoretical production at noon on a clear day near the equator. In other words, solar systems are almost NEVER producing the amount of power that their name plate says they can produce.

    Wind turbine manufacturers are not quite as bad, but they are also guilty of favoring capacity numbers rather than production numbers. Most people do not understand that the power production is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. When there is a nice 5 knot (2.5 m/s) breeze that feels good, the power output from a turbine is 1/8th as much as it is when the wind is blowing at a more intense 10 knots (5 m/s) and 1/64th as much as when the wind is blowing at the normal turbine design speed of 20 knots (10 m/s).

    Just remember, solar, wind, and biofuels are often being pushed by some very large corporate interests (GE, Siemens, BP, ADM) whose sales teams are driven by the very same kinds of incentives as the ones that drive those evil fossil fuel salesmen.

  • http://atomicinsights.blogspot.com Rod Adams

    Statistics are certainly an important part of understanding the world, but it is important to maintain a questioning attitude. When reading or listening to the sales materials from the “renewable” energy industry, pay attention to the fact that they nearly always talk about “capacity” rather than “production”.

    They also measure capacity in a rather interesting way, especially for solar systems. The nameplate capacity standard for the industry is to report the theoretical production at noon on a clear day near the equator. In other words, solar systems are almost NEVER producing the amount of power that their name plate says they can produce.

    Wind turbine manufacturers are not quite as bad, but they are also guilty of favoring capacity numbers rather than production numbers. Most people do not understand that the power production is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. When there is a nice 5 knot (2.5 m/s) breeze that feels good, the power output from a turbine is 1/8th as much as it is when the wind is blowing at a more intense 10 knots (5 m/s) and 1/64th as much as when the wind is blowing at the normal turbine design speed of 20 knots (10 m/s).

    Just remember, solar, wind, and biofuels are often being pushed by some very large corporate interests (GE, Siemens, BP, ADM) whose sales teams are driven by the very same kinds of incentives as the ones that drive those evil fossil fuel salesmen.

  • http://boksiora.googlepages.com/home2?981633784 IdiotsBoi

    Achtung ! All other world leaders !

  • http://boksiora.googlepages.com/home2?981633784 IdiotsBoi

    Achtung ! All other world leaders !

  • http://boksiora.googlepages.com/home2?981633784 IdiotsBoi

    Achtung ! All other world leaders !

  • http://quasipedia.com mac

    Martin K,

    1) what would exactly mean “we”? For the purpose of this reply, I will assume USA (most of English-speaker internet surfers are from there). Anyhow the reasoning applies for any country.

    2) There is not such a country that could not afford supporting the use of solar and wind power… Even developing countries support that! Production of energy-on-the-spot has very limited investments. In many African countries – for example – use of solar ovens have been supported with risible investments. Local production of electrical power via wind turbines or solar panels in those countries has turned in being even cheaper than building from the scratch a power-grid infrastructure.

    3) There is a difference between “subsidising” (a permanent alteration of production costs or purchase price for defending an unsustainable economy that otherwise would collapse) and “supporting the investments” (incentives for promoting the quicker adoption of a new sustainable technology, that is however the future we all will end up to).

    4) Even if there were no difference between the two, the role of a government is precisely making sure that economy goes where citizens need it. We need a sustainable planet, not more Exxon gas stations. Apart from Georgie W., we all understand that.

    5) Ever heard about “full cost accountability”? When this model has applied to other environmental issues it gives a different insight about many things: a CFC-propelled can of hairspray, for example, costed various hundreds of dollars, to humanity. Are you sure you could “afford” that? Do you know which is the “full cost” of using oil when viable alternatives do exist?

    6) Oil economy is far more subsidised than renewable energy one. To my knowledge, no country has kept bombing another country since 1992 spending hundreds of trillions of dollars (of citizens’ money) just to have control over the cost of solar or wind energy. Contrarily, I can think to at least one that did that for oil… can you?

    7) Statistics (sorry… “just statistics”) are a way to look and understand the world. The “just statistics” about Germany, for example, says they have good governance and citizens that make good use of their votes. What does the “just statistics” says about the citizens of your country?

    My advice: read more, think more, vote better.

  • http://quasipedia.com mac

    Martin K,

    1) what would exactly mean “we”? For the purpose of this reply, I will assume USA (most of English-speaker internet surfers are from there). Anyhow the reasoning applies for any country.

    2) There is not such a country that could not afford supporting the use of solar and wind power… Even developing countries support that! Production of energy-on-the-spot has very limited investments. In many African countries – for example – use of solar ovens have been supported with risible investments. Local production of electrical power via wind turbines or solar panels in those countries has turned in being even cheaper than building from the scratch a power-grid infrastructure.

    3) There is a difference between “subsidising” (a permanent alteration of production costs or purchase price for defending an unsustainable economy that otherwise would collapse) and “supporting the investments” (incentives for promoting the quicker adoption of a new sustainable technology, that is however the future we all will end up to).

    4) Even if there were no difference between the two, the role of a government is precisely making sure that economy goes where citizens need it. We need a sustainable planet, not more Exxon gas stations. Apart from Georgie W., we all understand that.

    5) Ever heard about “full cost accountability”? When this model has applied to other environmental issues it gives a different insight about many things: a CFC-propelled can of hairspray, for example, costed various hundreds of dollars, to humanity. Are you sure you could “afford” that? Do you know which is the “full cost” of using oil when viable alternatives do exist?

    6) Oil economy is far more subsidised than renewable energy one. To my knowledge, no country has kept bombing another country since 1992 spending hundreds of trillions of dollars (of citizens’ money) just to have control over the cost of solar or wind energy. Contrarily, I can think to at least one that did that for oil… can you?

    7) Statistics (sorry… “just statistics”) are a way to look and understand the world. The “just statistics” about Germany, for example, says they have good governance and citizens that make good use of their votes. What does the “just statistics” says about the citizens of your country?

    My advice: read more, think more, vote better.

  • http://quasipedia.com mac

    Martin K,

    1) what would exactly mean “we”? For the purpose of this reply, I will assume USA (most of English-speaker internet surfers are from there). Anyhow the reasoning applies for any country.

    2) There is not such a country that could not afford supporting the use of solar and wind power… Even developing countries support that! Production of energy-on-the-spot has very limited investments. In many African countries – for example – use of solar ovens have been supported with risible investments. Local production of electrical power via wind turbines or solar panels in those countries has turned in being even cheaper than building from the scratch a power-grid infrastructure.

    3) There is a difference between “subsidising” (a permanent alteration of production costs or purchase price for defending an unsustainable economy that otherwise would collapse) and “supporting the investments” (incentives for promoting the quicker adoption of a new sustainable technology, that is however the future we all will end up to).

    4) Even if there were no difference between the two, the role of a government is precisely making sure that economy goes where citizens need it. We need a sustainable planet, not more Exxon gas stations. Apart from Georgie W., we all understand that.

    5) Ever heard about “full cost accountability”? When this model has applied to other environmental issues it gives a different insight about many things: a CFC-propelled can of hairspray, for example, costed various hundreds of dollars, to humanity. Are you sure you could “afford” that? Do you know which is the “full cost” of using oil when viable alternatives do exist?

    6) Oil economy is far more subsidised than renewable energy one. To my knowledge, no country has kept bombing another country since 1992 spending hundreds of trillions of dollars (of citizens’ money) just to have control over the cost of solar or wind energy. Contrarily, I can think to at least one that did that for oil… can you?

    7) Statistics (sorry… “just statistics”) are a way to look and understand the world. The “just statistics” about Germany, for example, says they have good governance and citizens that make good use of their votes. What does the “just statistics” says about the citizens of your country?

    My advice: read more, think more, vote better.

  • http://skatingduck.net Paddy

    On reddit there was some discussion about the total share of renewable energy compared to nuclear energy.

    The pdf below shows some official numbers (in german).

    According to this, renewable energy in 2007 accounted for 6.6% of the total consumption while NE did for 11.1%

    http://bmwi.de/BMWi/Redaktion/PDF/P-R/primaerenergieverbrauch-2007-grafiken,property=pdf,bereich=bmwi,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf

  • http://skatingduck.net Paddy

    On reddit there was some discussion about the total share of renewable energy compared to nuclear energy.

    The pdf below shows some official numbers (in german).

    According to this, renewable energy in 2007 accounted for 6.6% of the total consumption while NE did for 11.1%

    http://bmwi.de/BMWi/Redaktion/PDF/P-R/primaerenergieverbrauch-2007-grafiken,property=pdf,bereich=bmwi,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf

  • Martin K.

    The entire reason to “Why Germany Is A Renewable Energy Success Story” is #4. The first three reasons are just statistics. The German government highly subsidizes solar energy. Without their subsidies solar energy would not be as economical and they wouldn’t be the solar success they are today.

    Even if I was okay with the idea of subsidies we couldn’t afford to do the same.

  • Martin K.

    The entire reason to “Why Germany Is A Renewable Energy Success Story” is #4. The first three reasons are just statistics. The German government highly subsidizes solar energy. Without their subsidies solar energy would not be as economical and they wouldn’t be the solar success they are today.

    Even if I was okay with the idea of subsidies we couldn’t afford to do the same.

  • Gustavion

    Wow! I had no idea that Germany was so progressive.

    “Over 214,000 people work in the German domestic renewable energy industry.” — That’s incredible; nearly 10% of the world’s entirety.

    The US would do well to follow Germany’s lead. I think it is important for individuals to support businesses efforts to ‘go green.’ For example, http://www.simplestop.net stops your postal junk mail and benefits the environment.

  • Gustavion

    Wow! I had no idea that Germany was so progressive.

    “Over 214,000 people work in the German domestic renewable energy industry.” — That’s incredible; nearly 10% of the world’s entirety.

    The US would do well to follow Germany’s lead. I think it is important for individuals to support businesses efforts to ‘go green.’ For example, http://www.simplestop.net stops your postal junk mail and benefits the environment.