February 04, 2019

Can Germany Meet Its Energy Goals?

Listen Later

2 minutes

Germany has been a global leader in efforts to decarbonize its massive

economy. A national initiative known as Energiewende – or clean energy

transition – has been in place since 2010 and relies heavily on renewable

energy sources, energy efficiency, and energy demand management.

The program has involved some of the most aggressive deployment of renewable energy sources in the world. Germany was the first country to install 1 GW of solar energy and still has the 5th largest amount of solar power in the world despite actually being a country with fairly limited sunshine. Germany has nearly 30,000 wind turbines, most of which are onshore, unlike many other countries in northern Europe. Over the past five years, government support and cost to consumers for the shift to clean energy have totaled over $180 billion.

However, despite these efforts, Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions

have not declined as rapidly as expected, even though nearly 40% of the

country’s electricity now comes from renewable sources.

This lack of expected success comes as a shock to the environmentally

conscious German population, nearly 90% of which supports the program.

There are two major problems Germany faces. One is that Germany is Europe’s largest

producer of coal, which still generates more than a third of the country’s

power. The other is that Germany’s large

auto industry is still married to gas- and diesel-fueled cars and emissions

from the country’s cars are a big problem.

The Energiewende program was driven by political will and investment

certainty. It is unclear whether Germany

can muster these forces again. The

Merkel government has dragged its feet on environmental issues in recent

years. It remains to be seen what effect

shifting political power in Germany will have.

**********

Web Links

Carbon Crossroads: Can Germany Revive Its Stalled Energy Transition?

Photo, posted August 15, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more

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Earth Wise

By Randy Simon

4.7

1515 ratings

February 04, 2019

Can Germany Meet Its Energy Goals?

Listen Later

2 minutes

Germany has been a global leader in efforts to decarbonize its massive

economy. A national initiative known as Energiewende – or clean energy

transition – has been in place since 2010 and relies heavily on renewable

energy sources, energy efficiency, and energy demand management.

The program has involved some of the most aggressive deployment of renewable energy sources in the world. Germany was the first country to install 1 GW of solar energy and still has the 5th largest amount of solar power in the world despite actually being a country with fairly limited sunshine. Germany has nearly 30,000 wind turbines, most of which are onshore, unlike many other countries in northern Europe. Over the past five years, government support and cost to consumers for the shift to clean energy have totaled over $180 billion.

However, despite these efforts, Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions

have not declined as rapidly as expected, even though nearly 40% of the

country’s electricity now comes from renewable sources.

This lack of expected success comes as a shock to the environmentally

conscious German population, nearly 90% of which supports the program.

There are two major problems Germany faces. One is that Germany is Europe’s largest

producer of coal, which still generates more than a third of the country’s

power. The other is that Germany’s large

auto industry is still married to gas- and diesel-fueled cars and emissions

from the country’s cars are a big problem.

The Energiewende program was driven by political will and investment

certainty. It is unclear whether Germany

can muster these forces again. The

Merkel government has dragged its feet on environmental issues in recent

years. It remains to be seen what effect

shifting political power in Germany will have.

**********

Web Links

Carbon Crossroads: Can Germany Revive Its Stalled Energy Transition?

Photo, posted August 15, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more