Germany's energiewende is a raft of different energy policies that can be boiled down to the following plan: phase out nuclear energy while boosting wind and solar by guaranteeing producers long-term, above-market rates called feed-in tariffs. It was a plan that from the outset reflected all the unexamined beliefs centrel to the modern green movement, and it's been plagued by problems at every step. (1)
This plan resulted in aggressive and reckless expansion of wind and solar power, causing German consumers to shoulder the cost of those feed-in tariffs in the form of sky high electricity bills. Those power bills have encouraged some of Germany's heavy industry to look around for a better environment in which to do business.
Energiewende has so far added more than 100 billion euros ($134 billion) to the power bills of households, shop owners and small factories as renewable energy met a record 25 percent of demand last year. Consumer rates are soaring to fund new plants. Germany's 40 million households now pay more for electricity than any other country in Europe except Denmark. (2)
Germany power companies are going broke and 350,000 households are getting theie electricity turned off each year because they can't afford the bills. Over the past three years a whopping 1,025 million German households lost power. (3)
Feed-in tariffs in Germany stimulated more than one million rooftop solar installations. But Germany is not exactly the sun belt. The latitude of central Germany is the same as that of Calgary, Canada. As a result, German solar installations generate electricity and 1 percent of the nation's energy. For this solar miracle, German citizens are obligated to pay over $400 billion in current and future payments to solar providers through higher electricity prices. (4)
There are times when the sun and wind combined were less than 2% of the needed supply. (5)
Germany's Federal Economics minister Sigmar Gabriel has abandoned the requirement of cutting 40 percent of CO2 emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2020. "It's clear that the 2020 CO2 target is no longer viable," said the vice-chancellor. "We cannot exit from coal power overnight." (6)
Naysayers
Pierre Gosselin provides updates on energy issues in Germany on his site, notrickszone.com. Here are some examples of naysayers comments regarding Germany's energy issues:
"Top renewable energy expert warns of collapsing euro energy supply...Germany's energy policy suicidal." December 5, 2014
"Germany leading daily calls for an end to green energy subsidies! Calls green promises a fairy tale!", April 3, 20154
"Germany's anti-wind energy elements morph into a massive network of protests groups....call wind energy a lie," June 4, 2014
"German physics professor blasts climate science...far too removed from the scientific facts," June 15, 2015
"Shambles...energy professor declares Germany energiewende a failure...population left disillusioned," July 5, 2015
"Professor blasts German renewable energy policy! Based on naivete, ignorance, ideology, illusions, false incentives," July 7, 2015
"Leading industry experts slams Germany's wild foray into green energies; unaffordable...absolute imbecility," July 18, 2015
Final Words
Renewable power sources have been so unreliable that Germany has been forced to construct numerous new coal plants in an effort to replace the nuclear energy it has taken off line. In fact the country will build more coal-fired facilities this year than at any time in the past two decades--bringing an estimated 5,300 megawatts of new capacity online. Most of these facilities will burn lignite, which is strip-mined and emits nearly 30 percent more carbon dioxide than hard coal. (7)
In other words, Germany is dirtying the planet in the name of clean energy--and sticking its citizens with an ever increasing tab so it can subsidize an energy source which will never generate sufficient power.
If there is a lesson to be learned form energiewende it's that is does manage to do some good by serving as a cautionary tale to the rest of the world: this is what happens when you let starry-eyed greens take the reins.
References
"Germany's energiewende finds the sour spot," the-american-interest.com, June 30, 2015
Julia Mengewein, "Merkel's taste for coal to upset $130 billion green drive," bloomberg.com/news, September 22, 2014
Joanna Nova, "1 million German households had power shut off in last three years due to green energy cost," joannenova.com, November 19, 2015
Steve Goreham, "Europe's wind powered recipe for economic disaster," stopthesethings.com, July 4, 2015
Pierre L. Gosselin, "German renewable energy keeps blacking out! Supply often less than 2% of wintertime demand," notrickszone.com, December 6, 2014
"Germany plans to withdraw from binding 2020 climate targets," Spiegel Online, November 16, 2014
Doug L. Hoffman, "Europe's illusion of a renewable future," theresilientearth.com, May 6, 2015
Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.
