Debunking FIT Myths
As noted elsewhere, there are a number of myths about Feed-in Tariffs (FITs), many proffered by the opponents of renewable energy–and some argued by environmentalists influenced neoliberal economic theory. Many talented authors have tackled these myths in explaining why FITs work so well and why FITs are more equitable than other renewable energy policies.
Lessons from Germany’s Energiewende
By
Volkmar Lauber and Staffan Jacobsson
This chapter in The Triple Challenge for Europe focuses on the German Energiewende which was designed as a long-term strategy in support of a transition to sustainability in energy supply. It was also a response to the challenge of globalization in that it aimed to improve Germany’s competitive position by stimulating the development of new capital goods industries and reducing fossil-fuel imports. Hence, Energiewende is a way to meet the triple challenge in the field of energy. During its first decades, it was successful in enabling the deployment of a range of new technologies, the formation of innovative capital goods…
The international perception of the Energiewende
By
Arne Jungjohann
However, the international Energiewende reporting makes me want to rub my eyes. If one is to believe those reports, industry is fleeing because energy costs are going through the roof.
The German Feed-in Tariff is a Revenue-Raising Instrument, not a Subsidy
By
R. Andreas Kraemer
The feed-in tariff, or “FiT”, is financed through a levy on the electricity bills of households and small enterprises. It is not paid out of public budgets, nor does it diminish fiscal revenue. By its nature, the feed-in tariff is thus not a subsidy.
Energiewende doesn’t translate as “energy mess”
By
Craig Morris
The desperate attempt to reframe the Energiewende as an “energy mess” shows what the real threat is: Germany is poised to prove that a low-carbon future without nuclear is the best option for a thriving industrial country.
Zero German coal plants as a reaction to Fukushima
By
Craig Morris
Second, there has been no surge in coal power during the nuclear phase-out. In fact, total coal power production (both lignite and hard coal) fell by six percent last year alone.
German power bills are low compared to US average
By
Craig Morris
Germans consume only a third as much electricity as Americans do. Their power bills are thus not so large.
