Author Archives: Thomas


About Thomas

I am a close observer of the renewable energy revolution in my home country Germany and around the world. As a full-blooded enthusiast, I spend a lot of my spare time reading about the technological, political, social and cultural developments that drive the renewable energy revolution and their benefits to society.   I studied media & computer science at university and work as a freelance graphic / interface designer. I love visualizing complex information, data, & the relationships that connect them to our world.

E-Ship 1 — 21st-Century Sailing

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E-Ship 1 in Emden

  When Wind Turbine Engineers Face Shipping Problems Engineers are a practical thinking bunch. When they encounter a problem, they think of it as a challenge that has to be solved by utilizing the mighty forces of applied science. The engineers that make up the management of the leading German wind turbine manufacturer Enercon encountered such a challange a few years ago. Every time they had to ship wind turbine parts across the oceans to provide … Read More

The Road to 2020 (Part II) — States on a New Course

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Road-to-2020-Logo

  A New Focal Point In the first part of this “Road to 2020″ series of posts, I looked at how the pro-nuclear & renewable-sceptical center-right federal government of Germany made a 180° turnaround in terms of energy policy back in 2011. While this was good news, it’s of course very questionable if all the politicans of the government coalition had a complete change of heart over night. What is certain though is that the … Read More

The Road to 2020 (Part I) — Energiewende

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Road-to-2020-Energiewende

  Political Fallout In the summer of 2011, the conservative federal government of Germany passed a law that will phase out nuclear power in Germany by 2022, and they proclaimed the so-called “Energiewende.” This announcement was made with a lot of pathos and was accompanied by even more talk about the historic nature of this brave decision and the gigantic task that lies ahead. Despite the fact that this certainly did sound very nice, the … Read More

April 1st in Germany — Happy Birthday, Renewable Energy Sources Act!

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Germany-share-of-demand

Not a Joke On a cloudy saturday, on April 1, 2000, the German “Renewable Energy Sources Act” entered into force replacing the “Feed-in Law” of 1991. It’s unique features were 1) a renewable-energy-source-specific feed-in tariff (FiT) guaranteed for 20 years and 2) minimum goals for the share of renewable energy generation for the decades to come. At a time when renewables had a share of about 6% of electricity production, the law called for an … Read More

12 Years Later — Solar Energy in Germany (VIDEO)

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Germany-Load-curve-2012-03-26

  Scroll to the bottom to watch the video (but you probably want to read the post for context first). More than a Decade Ago… 12 years have passed since the German parliament adopted the “Renewable Energy Sources Act” — it was adopted on March 29, 2000. This law was primarily developed by Hermann Scheer, who developed the underlying concepts during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Up until his death in 2010, Dr. Scheer … Read More

Germany — 7.5 GW of New Solar Power in 2011 (Confirmed)

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What kind of PV-Systems make up 7.5 GW in Germany

  Earlier this year reports were released that 3 GW of new solar power were installed in Germany during the month of December alone. This marked a new record for solar capacity installed in a single month in Germany and doubts were cast on the accuracy of the news. Many craftsmen and companies of the solar industry voiced their skepticism since they didn’t notice the kind of increased activity that would have been required to … Read More