Germany: Lost in Transition

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel made headlines and charmed the public two decades ago as an East German spokesperson supporting the reunification of the country. Now, she is making headlines for completely different reasons. She began an environmental revolution when she spearheaded an aggressive new platform to increase clean energy, stating that "'Oh, we will try our best' will not work." While Energiewende, Germany’s plan to transition to clean energy industries, is certainly admirable in its ambition, proponents of the plan, like Merkel, underestimate the public’s objection to the massive financial cost, unreliable power generation from renewable resources, and destruction of natural landscapes, ultimately setting the program up for failure.

The implementation of Energiewende is not random. In fact, it has been a long time coming. Getting its origins from the backlash of the 70s energy crisis, demand for environmental change increased after Chernobyl and skyrocketed after the Fukushima disaster, instilling the fear of unstable nuclear power in Germans. Supporters of this drastic plan have valid points. Nuclear energy is dangerous. Burning fossil fuels is dangerous. However, what supporters seem to be overlooking is the danger of a country filled with citizens who can’t pay for a government program they don’t agree with.

Originally, Germany was deemed the perfect location to implement Energiewende due to its relatively successful economy. When the government decided to subsidize renewable resources, citizens of all geographic and economic backgrounds rushed to install solar panels and wind turbines, patiently waiting to receive their compensation. This sounds like an efficient plan, but all it really does is lessen the pool of money the government can pull from. As a result, a tax is tacked on to every citizen’s energy bill, hiking up the cost of power and electricity. Over the past three years, household fuel bills have increased to 50% above the average European household. As the number of renewable resource construction projects increase, so will the price German citizens will have to pay-- and so will their frustration.

To make matters worse, citizens could find themselves paying for power that isn’t even being generated. When research suggested that offshore wind turbines could be more productive than those on-shore, a wind farm was constructed—with Germans’ tax money—on the island of Borkum. After the first report, it was found that no wind energy had been produced at all and carbon emissions actually increased due to the burning of coal to keep the machines running.

Not all solar panels and wind turbines are ineffective. Many hillside wind farms are able generate large amounts of power. The problem with this is that most Germans do not live on hillsides but in cities, where the majority of industrial production is also located. This begs the question of how power generated in rural areas will be stored and transported hundreds of miles so that it can actually be used. The massive European power grid was already inconsistent at transporting fossil fuels, which, although harmful, are relatively efficient. Citizens now fear citywide blackouts due to calm, cloudy days when solar and wind power will not be generated. An increase on taxes for usable power may be tolerable for some Germans, but it is unlikely anyone will be willing to pay for power they can’t even use.

Another factor that has to be taken into consideration is the destruction of natural landscapes in Germany. As mentioned previously, the majority of wind turbines are located on rural hillsides or along coasts. Coincidentally, these locations are also the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Constructing more and more unsightly turbines may strip rural Germany of the rustic charm that draws tourists to visit. This may seem like a small price to pay for the implementation of clean energy resources, but when German tourism is contributing nearly 30 billion euros to the total revenue, economic consequences must be thoroughly evaluated.

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Energiewende is a great idea—in theory. It has potential to serve as an example to countries worldwide that clean energy is possible and doable. In reality, however, implementing such an intensive task is simply not viable, nor will it ever be, unless major gains are made in technology and economics to ensure that the country will have power and that its citizens won’t go broke paying for it. Until then, Chancellor Merkel can only hope that, along with her transition in energy, her popularity among German citizens doesn’t see a transition as well.






Sources

http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1663317_1663319_1669897,00.html

http://www.economist.com/node/21559667http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c5b9815a-1c44-11e3-a8a3-00144feab7de.html#axzz2gKYDdrIB

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/c5b9815a-1c44-11e3-a8a3-00144feab7de,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fc5b9815a-1c44-11e3-a8a3-00144feab7de.html%3Fsiteedition%3Duk&siteedition=uk&_i_referer=#axzz2gKYDdrIB

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21579149-germanys-energiewende-bodes-ill-countrys-european-leadership-tilting-windmills

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/climatism-watching-climate-science/2013/aug/28/wind-turbines-clutter-north-german-countryside/

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/20b822a6#/20b822a6/22