Feed-in tariffs better alternative than Kyoto Protocol
Why aren't more countries or governments following Germans example of feed-in tariffs? About 10 years ago Hermann Scheer introduced feed-in tariffs in Germany. And over the years the German government has introduced other alternative energy programs. The result?
In Germany we installed in the last four years, based on our Renewable Energy Act from 2000, 10.000 MW new wind-power capacities. If there would have been in 2000 the decision for the equivalent of five new atomic power stations, each of 1000 MW capacity, not one could start to work before 2010.
In the past 12 years, an electricity generating capacity of 30,000 megawatts has been created under Germany’s Renewable Energies Act. In 2007 alone, new capacity grew so fast that it produced 15 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. That equals the annual output of two nuclear power plants.
If this initial rate were to continue for 25 years, Germany’s electricity needs could be completely supplied by renewables. Germany has an area of about 350,000 square kilometers and a population of 81 million people. What can be done here, can be done anywhere.
On top of this, nothing can be implemented faster than the expansion of renewable energies in the existing central facilities. Highly-centralized conventional power stations can be replaced by many smaller and mid-sized generation plants. A solar or wind-driven generator can be installed within a few days, while a nuclear power plant takes an average of 10 years to build. The argument that we should switch to nuclear energy to protect the environment because time is running out, is nonsense.
Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act - sometimes referred to as "Scheer's law" - obliges electricity distributors to buy power from renewable sources at up to seven times market rates, with the scale of the subsidy varying according to power source and declining gradually over the 20-year life of the tariff. By thus guaranteeing a robust market for renewables, Scheer's law has unleashed the most dramatic green-power boom the world has seen.
In addition to adding more than 20,000 megawatts of emissions-free energy to the nation's grid, the feed-in tariff has transformed Germany's renewable-power business into an industrial behemoth. It now generates about $240-billion in annual revenues and employs a quarter-million Germans. Germany's wind industry created 8,000 jobs in 2007 alone, and one recent study suggested that the renewable sector could provide more work than the auto industry (currently the nation's biggest employer) by 2020.
See also: The wind at his back and see also Renewable energy in Germany.
So, Germany has shown that it is possible. 14% of Germany's energy production is renewable energy. This has been accomplished in 10 years. In 10 years it is nearly impossible to build just 1 nuclear power station. This policy in Germany has created jobs, high-tech jobs and a lot of jobs. The largest PV plants can be found in Germany, the largest wind tubine companies can be found in Germany. Germany is increasingly becoming less dependent on foreign import of energy. The cost of the policy is far less than the costs of any bailout plan currently implemented to rescue financial institutions. So, this is money spent well. It is a double edge sword: with the right policy you creating jobs, reducing CO2 emissions and becoming less dependent on foreign energy. And mind you this is done in a country no where near the equator. This is Germany, a country in the heart of Europe, densily populated.
To me this example set by Germany looks like a much better plan than something like the Kyoto Protocol. It just needs some political will to do it.
