Germany’s Shift to Green Power Stalls, Despite Huge Investments In Wildpoldsried, a village of 2,600 a short drive from the farm, around €40 million has been invested over the years — much of it by residents — into an array of renewable power sources and improvements in energy efficiency. 7, 2017 BETZIGAU, Germany — Katharina Zinnecker’s farm in the foothills of the German Alps has been in the family since 1699. But renewable energy subsidies are financed through electric bills, meaning that Energiewende is a big part of the reason prices for consumers have doubled since 2000. Germany has spent an estimated 189 billion euros, or about $222 billion, since 2000 on renewable energy subsidies. But emissions have been stuck at roughly 2009 levels, and rose last year, as coal-fired plants fill a void left by Germany’s decision to abandon nuclear power. About one-third of German electricity now comes from renewable sources, a fivefold increase since 2000.
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