Germany considers itself the environmental conscience of the world: with its nuclear phase-out and its green energy transition, the German government wanted to give the world a model to follow. Blinded by its own halo, however, Germany overlooked that others have to pay for this green image boost and are suffering as a result. Germany’s ‘eco-miracle’ simply used the power grids of neighbouring countries not only without asking for permission but also without paying for it. Now Poland and the Czech Republic have pulled the plug and are building a huge switch-off at their borders to block the uninvited import of green energy from Germany which is destabalising their grids and is thus risking blackouts. --Daniel Wetzel, Die Welt, 28 December 2012
