1. The German energy transition is an ambitious, but feasible...

1. The German energy transition is an ambitious, but feasible undertaking.

A lot of people outside Germany, including environmentalists, are skeptical. But even the skeptics like Germany’s goal of demonstrating that a thriving industrial economy can switch from nuclear and fossil energy to renewables and efficiency. The German can-do attitude is based on the experience over the last two decades, when renewables matured much more quickly, become more reliable and much cheaper than expected. The share of renewable electricity in Germany rose from 6% to 25% in only ten years. On sunny and windy days, solar panels and wind turbines now supply up to half the country’s electricity demand, which no one expected just a few years ago. Recent estimates suggest that Germany will once again surpass its renewable energy target and have more than 40% of its power from renewables by 2020. Furthermore, many German research institutes and the government and its agencies have run the numbers and developed sound scenarios for a renewable economy.
2. The German energy transition is driven by citizens and communities.

Germans want clean energy, and a lot of them want to produce it themselves. The Renewable Energy Act guarantees priority grid access to all electricity generated from renewables and is designed to produce reasonable profits. By 2011, more than half of investments in renewables had been made by small investors. Large corporations, on the other hand, have invested relatively little so far. The switch to renewables has greatly strengthened small and midsize businesses, and it has empowered local communities and their citizens to generate their own renewable energy. Across Germany, a rural energy revolution is underway. Communities are benefiting from new jobs and increasing tax revenues, which has become even more important after the debt crisis in the euro zone.

http://energytransition.de/2012/10/key-findings/