Renewable energy in Germany is mainly based on wind and biomass, plus solar and hydro. Germany had the world's largest photovoltaic installed capacity until 2014, and as of 2021 it has over 58 GW. It is also the world's third country by installed total wind power capacity, 64 GW in 2021 and second for offshore wind, with over 7 GW. Germany has been called "the world's first major renewable energy economy".
Wind power in Germany is a growing industry. The installed capacity was 55.6 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2017, with 5.2 GW from offshore installations. In 2019, a quarter of the country's total electricity was generated using wind power, compared to an estimated 9.3% in 2010.
Solar power accounted for an estimated 8.2 per cent of electricity in Germany in 2019, which was almost exclusively from photovoltaics (PV). About 1.5 million photovoltaic systems were installed around the country in 2014, ranging from small rooftop systems, to medium commercial and large utility-scale solar parks. Germany's largest solar farms are located in Meuro, Neuhardenberg, and Templin with capacities over 100 MW.
Feed-in electricity tariffs (FiT) were introduced in Germany to encourage the use of new energy technologies such as wind power, biomass, hydropower, geothermal power and solar photovoltaics. Feed-in tariffs are a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies by providing them remuneration above the retail or wholesale rates of electricity. The mechanism provides long-term security to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology. Technologies such as wind power, for instance, are awarded a lower per-kWh price, while technologies such as solar PV and tidal power are offered a higher price, reflecting higher costs.
Hans-Josef Fell was a member of the German Parliamentary Group Alliance 90/ the Greens from 1998 to 2013. He served as spokesman on energy for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group, a member of the Environmental Protection Committee, substitute member of the Committee on Economics and Technology and substitute member of the Defence Committee. Together with Hermann Scheer, he authored the 2000 draft of the Renewable Energy Sources Act, establishing the foundation for the technology developments in photovoltaic, biogas, wind power and geothermal energy in Germany. Fell is founder and president of the Energy Watch Group and an internationally renowned energy and climate change advisor, author and speaker.
Preben Maegaard, was a Danish renewable energy pioneer, author and expert. Since the oil crisis in 1974 he worked for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Preben Maegaard was co-founder of the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, established in 1983, and its director 1984 till 2013 (www.folkecenter.net).
Germany predominantly sources its energy from fossil fuels, followed by wind, nuclear, solar, biomass and hydro.
Martin Vosseler was a Swiss renewable energy advocate, co-founder of the organization Physicians for Social Responsibility, who has been a renewable energy advocate since 1981. After giving up his medical practice in 1995, he began working full-time to raise awareness of the benefits of renewable energy use, by traveling around the world. From 16 October 2006 to 8 May 2007, Vosseler and his crew made history by completing the first trans-Atlantic crossing in a motorized boat, using solar power only. Vosseler received a special prize from Eurosolar.
Huf HausGmbH & Co. KG is a German company operating worldwide and based in Hartenfels, Westerwald region, that manufactures prefabricated homes. Huf Haus is the world's leading firm in selling houses in the Bauhaus architectural tradition based on the German Fachwerk design. The construction allows individual floor plans, including for residential as well as office buildings. The homes, also called Huf houses, are available as zero-energy buildings.
The Renewable Energy Sources Act or EEG is a series of German laws that originally provided a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme to encourage the generation of renewable electricity. The EEG 2014 specified the transition to an auction system for most technologies which has been finished with the current version EEG 2017.
Different methods of electricity generation can incur a variety of different costs, which can be divided into three general categories: 1) wholesale costs, or all costs paid by utilities associated with acquiring and distributing electricity to consumers, 2) retail costs paid by consumers, and 3) external costs, or externalities, imposed on society.
The European Solar Prizes are a series of awards which have been given annually since 1994 by the European Association for Renewable Energy (EUROSOLAR) located in Bonn, Germany. The prizes are awarded to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the utilization and applications of renewable energy in all its available forms.
As of the end of 2022, solar power in Austria amounted to nearly 3.8 gigawatt (GW) of cumulative photovoltaic (PV) capacity, with the energy source producing 4.2% of the nation's electricity.
The Solarpark Alt Daber is a photovoltaic facility in Germany generating 67.8 megawatts. It was completed 3 December 2011, for a cost of €100 million, and is expected to produce 71 GWh/year. It is on a former military airport.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organisation to focus exclusively on renewable energy, addressing needs in both industrialised and developing countries. It was founded in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010. The agency is headquartered in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. The Director-General of IRENA is Francesco La Camera, a national of Italy. IRENA is an official United Nations observer.
Solar power in Switzerland has been growing rapidly in recent years due to declining system costs and a feed-in tariff instituted by the Swiss government. In 2013, cumulative capacity increased by 69% to 730 megawatts (MW) and contributed 544 GWh or 0.8% of the countries net-electricity production.
Martin Kaltschmitt is a German engineer and professor at Hamburg University of Technology. He is head of the Institute of Environmental technology and Energy economics at Hamburg University of Technology.
Eveline Lemke is former German politician and member of the Alliance 90/The Greens. From 18 May 2011 until 18 May 2016, she was vice minister president of Rhineland-Palatinate and Minister for Economics, Climate Protection, Energy and Regional Planning. On 27 March 2011, she was elected into the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate. She was the leading candidate for her party in the 2016 Rhineland-Palatinate state elections along with The Greens faction leader in the Landtag, Daniel Köbler, after having been leader of the party since 2006. As vice minister Lemke represented the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in the German Bundesrat. As author and speaker in green technological issues and Circular Economy, she founded Thinking Circular in 2017. This thinktank is listed in the Sustainable Development Goals Help Desk, a platform by the United Nations since July 2018. She is also working as consultant together with Prof. Michael Braungart, chemist and inventor of the design philosophy Cradle-to-Cradle, Martin Lees and David Wortmann (DWR-Eco-Innovation-Alliance).
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By the end of 2016 Austria already fulfilled their EU Renewables Directive goal for the year 2020. By 2016 renewable energies accounted to 33.5% of the final energy consumption in all sectors. The renewable energy sector is also accountable for hosting 41,591 jobs and creating a revenue of 7,219 million euros in 2016.
