ASSESSMENTS

Germany and the Green Power Revolution

Jan 18, 2018 | 14:10 GMT

Germany, a country of 83 million people, is a world leader in the adoption of renewable energy sources.

A sheep grazes among solar panels in Sonnewalde, Germany. Germany is making strong progress in meeting aggressive goals toward higher reliance on renewable energy sources as part of its Energiewende, or energy transition. The country is moving away from coal and nuclear energy. Though it is phasing out its nuclear power plants, it will probably remain dependent on coal for decades to come.

(SEAN GALLUP/Getty Images)

Germany, the world's fourth largest economy, is leading the way in a global transition to renewable energy. Through its own transformation, dubbed Energiewende, Germany was able to produce 38.5 percent of its power from wind, solar and other renewable sources during 2017. That figure is well ahead of the progress made by any other country among the world's rich and developing nations, and Germany showed that it could be done while maintaining strong economic growth over the past 15 years. And though this green revolution has helped make renewable energy into a major global business, it hasn't come without mistakes. But even those missteps can serve as signposts for the countries that want to follow the trail blazed by Germany....

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