Germany has a program to increase its electricity production from renewable sources to 80 percent by 2050. The country produced a record 27 percent of its electricity from renewable energy during the first quarter of 2014 due to increased renewable capacity and favorable weather. While the country’s electricity generation from renewable energy is on the upswing, however, there are ramifications to this program that include instability of the electric grid, the need to secure back-up power that is reliable, and the burden on its households to pay for the high cost of electricity. German utility companies are receiving payments from the grid to help stabilize the electricity network that has been destabilized by drops and surges from wind and solar power. Coal is being used more heavily to back-up the intermittent renewable technologies and to provide reliable base load power that is increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Households are paying heavily for subsidies such as feed-in-tariffs that subsidize the high cost of renewable technologies.
