What role will the energiewende play in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany? How does Germany’s approach to renewables differ from the UK’s? Catherine Mitchell from the University of Exeter takes a look at both countries.
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Germans Driven by Facts, Not Fear – Deal With It
Why the moral indignation at Germany’s attempt to switch to renewables? When checking into Germany, Craig Morris advises Americans to leave their vituperation at the door. Germans of different political camps speak respectfully with each other and are guided by facts, not ideology – with, he regrets, the exception of Der Spiegel.
Clean Break Inspires Americans to Pursue “Energy Change”
Renewable energy journalist Osha Gray Davidson recently released a book called Clean Break, detailing the German Energiewende (translation: energy change). John Farrell points out how the book essentially tells a societal story of how Germans systematically shift to clean energy.
Count Nuclear Waste, Not Just CO2
How much carbon does the average American or European emit per year? How much does the world emit? And if you know the answers to those questions, maybe you can also tell Craig Morris how many tons of nuclear waste the world has? He tried, and failed, to find out.
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.
Our Discussions on Nuclear Power Should Include a Peace Dividend
On the second anniversary of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Craig Morris talks about what – despite the flood of information – still needs to be better understood and why the debate about our future energy supply should include a peace dividend.
EU Drives German Energy Policy
Yesterday, the German government held a press conference on the energy transition, which apparently put a lot of reporters to sleep. During the event, Environmental Minister Peter Altmaier found time to engage in a debate with us on Twitter. Craig Morris thinks he won that debate, by the way. And the real news came out of Brussels, not Berlin: German energy policy may violate competition rules.
Feed-in Tariffs For Nuclear, Anyone?
Feed-in tariffs are often referred to as a startup mechanism for a fledgling technology (renewables), and it is assumed that they will be done away with at some point. Craig Morris wonders why the nuclear sector now needs them after 50 years of subsidies.
The German Energy Transition and its Neighbors – Part 4
Is Germany not simply switching off its own nuclear plants in order to import nuclear power from its neighbors? It turns out that nuclear plants in neighboring countries have always run at full capacity and simply cannot be ramped up any further to sell more to Germany. Craig Morris discusses the recent findings of a report by the German Institute for Applied Ecology (Oeko-Institute).
We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
Everyone understandably looks towards the future to see how Germany will manage to increase the share of renewables in its power supply, but occasionally it’s worth taking a look back to see how far we have come – far, far further than both critics and supporters expected. Craig Morris takes a look.