While Berlin debates capacity markets and new grid infrastructure, local players like those in the southern city of Freiburg continue to make Germany’s energy transition – or Energiewende – happen. Local financial institutions play a crucial role in this. They operate within national level incentive systems but unleash potentials far beyond the mere provision of capital. According to Sebastian Philipps, local German stakeholders can offer climate finance cases that deserve a closer look, also from an international perspective. Should Germany’s national decision makers thus pay closer attention to local developments if they want to keep the Energiewende going? Local forces shape a big part of the Energiewende Today, roughly 50 per cent of Germany’s renewable capacity is owned by local energy providers, cooperatives or just ordinary citizens. The finance behind this has come from local savings and cooperative banks or privately established cooperatives, according to Heinrich Degenhart, professor for finance and banking at the University of Lueneburg. Local savings banks do not only offer credit but also support the coordination of local stakeholders from administration, … Continue reading The Hidden Power of Local Finance