Over the course of the last two winters, the Energiewende’s opponents have warned in the shrillest tones that relying so heavily on PV and onshore wind would cause blackouts and power outages, leaving German industry prostrate and German citizens freezing in their homes. None of this came to bear, and Germany posted a new overall export record in 2012 and also exported more electricity than ever before.
Author: Paul Hockenos
Is Interest in the Energiewende Cooling Down?
Germany’s much-hyped Energiewende is on the defensive. There’s a backlash against it, even though opinion polls show three-quarters of Germans in favor of Germany’s clean energy transition, notes Paul Hockenos.
“So there’s no critical discourse about energy-related topics”
Martin Bursik is deputy leader of the Greens and chairperson of the Chamber of Renewable Energy Resources in Prague. Paul Hockenos talked with him about the renewables, the problem that Germany’s electricity flows swamping the Czech grid and the missing public debate about energy-related topics in the Czech Republic.
The Energiewende – the Result of a Powerful Mass Movement from Below
Nowhere is the economic impact of the German energy transition more evident than in Bavaria where land owners and farmers have taken advantage of the new incentives to become “prosumers”. In this interview that Paul Hockenos conducted with Josef Goeppel, a conservative member of the Bundestag from Bavaria, it becomes clear how German traditional conservatives are grasping the relevance of the Energiewende.
The Battle over Electricity: Part II
Paul Hockenos recently sat down to interview energy and environment expert Claudia Kemfert. Kemfert, who is no spokesperson for the Greens or anyone else, argues that the naysayers are not shooting straight but rather have armed themselves with spurious arguments, low-ball populism, and outright lies. This is the second part of a two part series.
Energiewende – Think Again!
Paul Hockenos recently attended a conference on the European perspective of the German Energiewende organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin. His report shows that distrust remains a common sentiment of German neighbors and that better coordination and communication is needed.
The Battle over Electricity
Paul Hockenos recently sat down to interview energy and environment expert Claudia Kemfert. Kemfert, who is no spokesperson for the Greens or anyone else, argues that the naysayers are not shooting straight but rather have armed themselves with spurious arguments, low-ball populism, and outright lies. In her recent book, she aims to correct the myths that, she argues, are slowly turning Germans against the clean energy switch.
“Endless Energy” from Campaign to Mainstream
Envisioned to help counterbalance the public relations might of the Big Four, the Renewable Energies Agency has become a valuable think tank in its own right, writes Paul Hockenos, US freelance journalist living in Berlin.
EU: Don’t Cut Smart Grid Money!
While the picture being painted of gains in climate action spending is rosy, those who’ve read the fine print of the budget negotiations know the reality: in order to further bloat agricultural subsidies, European Union leaders have made deep cuts to clean energy infrastructure development funds that will be felt continent-wide for decades to come. Paul Hockenos takes a look.
What Americans Don’t Get About Germany’s Renewable Energy Revolution
American views on Germany’s commitment to renewable energy sources tend to misunderstand the transition’s political, economic, and historical underpinnings. Where does this misunderstanding come from? The American journalist, Paul Hockenos, takes a look.