LESSONS FROM GERMANY’S ENERGY RENAISSANCE

Germany has become the world leader in renewable energy technology, manufacturing, sales and employment. The German map is dotted with hundreds of renewable energy companies. They make PV cells, wind turbines, solar thermal panels, biofuels and technology for biomass plants and geothermal energy.

Germany has created 240,000 jobs in the renewable energy industry, 140,000 of them since 2001, said Matthias Machnig, State Secretary for the federal Ministry of the Environment. Renewable energy technologies already make up 4 to 5 per cent of Germany’s gross domestic product; Mr. Machnig expects the figure to rise to 16 per cent by 2025.
Renewables generated 14 per cent of the country’s electricity last year, significantly ahead of the 12.5-per-cent target set for 2010. “We are making a huge investment in the markets of the future,” Mr. Machnig said.

GERMANY’S VAST renewable energy industry is a careful and deliberate blend of industrial, political and green policies. Wind power has been leading the charge. Germany is a windy country and the ubiquitous wind farms generated 7.4 per cent of Germany’s electricity last year.

With onshore wind energy growth starting to level off – offshore wind probably will take off once favourable regulations are in place – the Germans are injecting the photovoltaic industry with growth hormones. “In a few years, the PV industry could be bigger than the German car industry,” said Thomas Grigoleit, senior manager for renewable energy for Invest In Germany, a government investment agency.

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