e360 digest

28 Aug 2012: Germany May Need to Slow
Shift to Green Energy, Official Says

Germany’s environment minister said Tuesday that the country might have to slow its shift to renewable energy to quell concerns about rising consumer costs. A year after the government decided to phase out nuclear powerfollowing Japan’s Fukushima disaster, Germany has indeed been able to increase

Germany’s Unlikely Champion
Of a Radical Green Energy Path

The Fukushima disaster convinced Angela Merkel that nuclear power would never again be a viable option for her country. Now Merkel has embarked on an ambitious plan to power an industrial economy on renewable sources of energy.
READ THE e360 REPORT

renewable energy generation, with solar and wind incentives helping the country produce more than 25 percent of its power from cleaner sources. But that rapid growth is causing higher costs for consumers and placing an increased strain on the energy grid, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier told the Financial Times Deutschland. “These are costs that can be avoided with good planning,” Altmaier said. While a senior Social Democrat called a slower shift to renewable energy “unacceptable,” members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration are seeking legislation that would reduce the burden on consumers. On Monday, the energy group Vattenfall reported that Germany’s current green energy targets would likely require an investment of 150 billion euros ($188 billion) by 2020, causing a 30-percent increase in electricity costs. If the German government does slow its transition to a green energy economy, the offshore wind sector would likely be most affected, analysts say.

Recommend

Stumble Upon

Digg

How Laundry Detergent Became A Catalyst for Green Innovation

How Data and Social Pressure Can Reduce Home Energy Use

Green Crude: The Quest to Unlock Algae’s Energy Potential

High-Altitude Wind Energy: Huge Potential — And Hurdles

For Electric Car Batteries, The Race for a Rapid Charge

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Podcasts
Video Reports

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.

Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

Centre for Science and Environment

Environmental Health News

Environmental News Network