Last Thursday, the Who’s Who of Germany’s Energiewende met in Berlin to discuss the future of Germany’s transition to renewables. While agreement among participants existed over the Energiewende’s success story to date, opinions differed on the right path to the future. Alexander Franke says that 2014 will be a decisive year for the success of Germany’s ambitious project.
Author: Energiewende Team
Vauban: District of the 21st century
A barracks as a forerunner in terms of urban development and sustainable living? What sounds like a mismatch is today the home of more than 5,000 citizens of Freiburg, Germany in a district called Vauban, as Julian Wortmann explains.
‘Brussels’ vs. the German Energy Transition?
The European Commission has recently started an inquiry into German exceptions for certain industries from the renewable energy surcharge. German business leaders and politicians perceived this as an attack on the German Energiewende. Silvia Brugger suggests that instead of seeing Brussels as an enemy of the German Energiewende, Germany should try to better inform and cooperate with its European partners on the German Energiewende and take European opinions seriously.
Innovative Third-Party Financing Makes Solar Affordable—For All
Ten years ago many Americans couldn’t afford to buy a solar electric system for their home. Today, many consumers still can’t stomach the steep sticker price, even if it offers the promise of low-cost, clean renewable energy in the long term. But, as RMI’s Laurie Guevara-Stone finds, that’s changing thanks in large part to third-party financing that frequently includes no-money-down options for residential PV systems.
The Hidden Power of Local Finance
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?
Can the Cost of Solar in the U.S. Compete with Germany?
Installing solar capacity is much more expensive in the U.S. than it is in Germany. RMI has released a new report with Georgia Tech to analyze U.S. installation cost reduction opportunities. RMI’s Koben Calhoun and Jesse Morris summarize the findings.
Change or transformation?
40 years after the upheaval of the 1973 oil crisis the energy transformation has entered the global lexicon, perhaps most famously through the German term “Energiewende”. Both devastating and inspiring, the 1973 oil crisis presented an opportunity to make a change. Like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, it opened a rare door through which public opinion and policy makers could meet with the common purpose of emerging from a crisis. Looking back today, Aurelia Rochelle Figueroa identifies the 1973 oil crisis can be seen as a turning point in the energy policy debate and the genesis of the ongoing energy transformation.
Commission Opens State Aid Investigation into German Renewables Surcharge Reduction for Energy-intensive Companies and Green Electricity Privilege
The European Commission has opened an investigation into two questionable provisions of the German Renewable Energy Act. Matthias Lang summarizes the reasons for the inquiry and how it might affect the German Energiewende.
CDU/CSU and SPD Present Coalition Agreement – 55% to 60% Renewables by 2035 and More
The conservative CDU/CSU, the winners of the Federal Election of 22 September 2013, and the Social Democrats (SPD), who emerged second in the election, have presented a coalition agreement for a grand coalition in Germany that provides inter alia for a binding expansion corridor of 55% to 60% renewable energy by 2035. The partners announce to present a reform of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) by Easter 2014. As a novelty, the SPD will present the draft to its members for vote between 6 and 12 December before proceeding further with the coalition. Matthias Lang summarizes the results relevant for the Energiewende.
Lowering the Cost of Solar PV: Soft Costs with Hard Challenges (Part 2)
In part one, Dan Seif, principal with Rocky Mountain Institute’s electricity and industrial practices, and Jesse Morris, Senior Associate for electricity and transportation practices at Rocky Mountain Institute, discussed the importance of lowering the soft costs of solar PV – all the related solar energy system costs besides the hardware. They covered two cost areas addressed in RMI and NREL’s new roadmap report on solar PV soft costs: 1) permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII) and 2) customer acquisition. This time, they are looking will look at reducing financing and installation labor costs.