Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the end of 2015, has been increased to €0.04 per kWh. Meanwhile tarifs for
onshore wind energy will remain the same.
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In order to support ofshore
wind power initiatives, the government is planning a special €5.5 billion
program to inance wind park expansion in the North and Baltic Seas that
commenced in late 2011.
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In March 2012, the government intensiied its commitment to meeting
its ambitious renewable energy goals by announcing a program to invest
approximately €200 billion in new renewable energy projects. his equates
to approximately 8% of the nation's annual GDP.
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It appears that China
and the United States will receive a run for their money in regard to new
wind power capacity development over the next couple of decades.
5.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE
5.4.1 Sociocultural Landscape
As previously detailed, both political and grassroots support for Germany's
wind power program sprung from anti-nuclear power / environmental
movements of the 1970s.
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In the ensuing 40-year period, support for
enhanced environmental governance in Germany has escalated to a stage
where Germany's Green party now plays an inluential role in German
politics. To this day, Germany is considered to be a leading nation in
environmental governance and the prevalence of a strong environmental
ethic continues to serve as the basis of popular support for wind power
development.
One other sociocultural characteristic that has aided the development of
wind power in Germany is the proclivity on the part of Germans to invest
in community initiatives, either individually or through cooperative invest-
ment. Wind power developers have successfully exploited this. According to
wind power expert Paul Gipe, 51% of installed renewable energy capacity
is owned by German citizens (40% individuals and 11% farmers), not cor-
porations or utilities. In some regions such as Northern Friesland, citizen
ownership of wind farms exceeds 90%. In total, there is about US$100 bil-
lion of private investment tied up in renewable energy projects with about
30% of this invested in wind power projects. As Stefan Gsanger, director of
the World Wind Energy Association, points out, “if we want to reach 100%
renewable energy supply, we have to ensure that local communities beneit
from renewable energy development and support projects in their vicinity.
Community and citizen-ownership models have a proven track record in
achieving this objective.”
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Interestingly, some analysts have asserted that
community ownership in renewable energy projects in the late 1980s and
