In the News

Step Toward Energy Security

In the summer of 2011, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government passed legislation putting Germany on course to generate a third of its power through renewable sources within a decade. By 2050, the plan is to reach 80 percent. The goal to transform the country into a nation powered by renewable energy sources is both ambitious and expensive, but definitely doable. By June 2011, Germany passed the 20 percent mark for drawing electric power from a mix of wind, solar and other renewables. In comparison, Japan and Germany are only at 9 percent.

The goal requires the commitment not just of the government to provide the right mix of resources, subsidies and investment incentives, but from its people as well. Currently, Germans pay a EUR 3.5 cent per kilowatt-hour tax, roughly EUR 157 (US $205) per year for a typical family of four, to support research and investment in and subsidize the production and consumption of energy from renewable sources.

Critics charge it places too much of a burden on the taxpayer, and Germany will have to invest billions in infrastructure to make it work, but the driving innovations in technology, the creation of new jobs, the reduction of harmful emissions and energy security may be seen as a worthy trade-off by the German people.