Germany’s Green Energy Transition May Force Out Industry

The public discussion about Germany’s green energy transition has taken a new direction. The rise of electricity prices in Germany is suddenly no longer blamed on the billions spent for building solar and wind farms, biomass plants and power grids. Now it is “the industry” which is being blamed for its lobbying which has resulted in a variety of financial reliefs, compensations and tax exemptions and for abandoning the ‘community solidarity’ of this ‘national effort.’ The green industry lobby has agreed to this new line of attack after it came under increasing pressure by the rampant increase in costs. It’s new motto: it is not the absolute level of costs, which is the problem, but its unjust distribution.—Daniel Wetzel, Die Welt, 7 August 2012