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| world's largest rotor (75m) |
Many Americans are skeptical that an economy as big as the United States has can be run on mostly renewable sources of energy. Evidence is piling up that a developed country with a modern economy can be green. Germany has Europe's largest economy and its most industrialized. It is proving right now that green power works. On Sunday, Germany set another record of renewable energy use as 75% of the nation's overall electrical demand by midday was supplied by renewable sources. According to one monitoring company electricity prices actually went down in much of the afternoon. Germany produces twice the amount of green energy than the United States which is hell-bent on drilling and fracking its landscape into desert in the name of "energy independence"; a
phantom it will never catch as long as it depends on fungible hydrocarbons sold in a global market. Germany will achieve further records in green energy production as it continues its policy of
Energiewende to power the country almost entirely with renewable sources by 2050.
One technical factor holding the United States back is its
legacy energy grid which would have difficulties handling a large proportion of fluctuating energy production. Yet the United States has more potential solar energy than Germany, known for its leaden skies. At the end of 2012 the country had installed more solar power capacity in the world thanks to large government incentives. In contrast the United States still allows hugely profitable international oil companies a depletion allowance among
other lucrative US tax subsidies. In 2013 the American oil and gas industry averaged 20 spills per day. German solar power has reached grid parity meaning once all costs are accounted for the price of commercial solar is equal to retail electricity rates. Citizens pay a surcharge for clean energy, but have the opportunity to gain it back by installing their own photovoltaic system for as little as $600. Citizens, cooperatives and communities own more than half of German renewable capacity which is one reason monopolistic fossil fuel companies are desperately fighting society-wide conversion to renewable energy in the United States. Wind power in Germany reached record output levels last year, accounting for 39% of electricity supply on a single December day.
[photo above: Seimens] Critics of Germany's energy transformation point out that coal burning has increased in Germany to supply its base load, and that the ambitious German renewable energy goals including phasing out nuclear power are only possible if there is reduction in demand. However, green energy experts point out that Germany is only
temporarily replacing expensive natural gas. German power prices for 2014 sagged 17% as renewable production surged and consumption fell to 2009 levels.
