Energy Democracy: Germany’s Energiewende to Renewables

Energy Democracy: Germany’s Energiewende to Renewables
ISBN-10
3319318918
ISBN-13
9783319318912
Category
Social Science
Pages
437
Language
English
Published
2016-09-09
Publisher
Springer
Authors
Craig Morris, Arne Jungjohann

Description

This book outlines how Germans convinced their politicians to pass laws allowing citizens to make their own energy, even when it hurt utility companies to do so. It traces the origins of the Energiewende movement in Germany from the Power Rebels of Schönau to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s shutdown of eight nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. The authors explore how, by taking ownership of energy efficiency at a local level, community groups are key actors in the bottom-up fight against climate change. Individually, citizens might install solar panels on their roofs, but citizen groups can do much more: community wind farms, local heat supply, walkable cities and more. This book offers evidence that the transition to renewables is a one-time opportunity to strengthen communities and democratize the energy sector – in Germany and around the world.

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