Renewable Energy in Germany

Renewable Energy
Renewable energy refers to the energy which comes from sources which are naturally replenished. These sources may be wind, water or solar energy. When we talk about non-renewable sources of energy like coal, crude oil etc. these fuels are consumed while producing energy and cannot be reused. On the other hand when we talk about such energy sources, they can be reused. It is very easy to use the wind flowing for n number of wind mills to generate electricity. The sun rays which are already falling on the earth without being used are utilized to generate electricity using photovoltaic cells. The water stream falling from high waterfalls is made to fall on turbine which generates electricity. Renewable energy sector has tremendous scope and potential and it can help the world reduce dependability on fuel based energy production as fuel shortage is a big problem for most of the countries.

Renewable Energy in Germany
Germany is the first country in the world to have Renewable Energy Economy. Around 17% of the total power production of Germany occurs through renewable sources which is even higher than the production done by gas fired power plants. Energy production by renewable sources is also a source of large employment. Around 0.37 million people in Germany, were employed in the sector in year 2010, showing a steep increase of 2 times as compared to year 2002.

Germany along with other states of the European Union started working for increasing their share of these sources in total power production in year 1997 after the passage of Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources, 1997. The target was set to produce 12% of the total power consumption from these sources by year 2010. Germany achieved this target much earlier in year 2007 and reached 17% in 2010.

Renewable Energy Industry
Germany's renewable energy industry is one of the fastest growing and most innovative industries worldwide. The major companies involved in energy production by renewable sources are

Wind - Nordex, Repower, Enercon
Solar - SolarWorld, Q-Cells, Conergy

The success of Germany's renewable energy sources can be assessed by the fact that every third solar panel and every second wind rotor used worldwide is made in Germany. In 2010, Germany set up a new world record by installing solar energy set up for producing 7,400 MW power in one year.

Major Competitors
Wind - Denmark, Spain, US
Solar - Japan, US, China

Wind Power - Germany is world's second largest producer of wind energy after US. Wind energy supplies 7% of total energy requirement of Germany. The negative side is that the wind turbines are known to cause a bad impact on the landscape, bird population and tourist industry. As a solution Germany is focusing on offshore wind farms away from the coastlines where the wind blows more consistently.