Involvement in the “Energy Transition” (“Energiewende”)

Triggered by the nuclear disaster of Fukushima in 2011 the federal government embarked on an internationally unprecedented “energy transition” (“Energiewende”) which revolves around terminating the nuclear power generation by 2022 and sets the goal to have the county’s energy consumption almost entirely generated from renewable sources by 2030. In focusing on the involvement of the local authorities in achieving the “energy transition” the chapter outlines the broad spectrum of pertinent measures and activities pursued by them, inter alia, pertaining to energy saving, generation and use of renewable (solar, wind) energy, district heating etc. Moreover, the significant involvement of the municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) and also of the energy cooperatives is spelt out and highlighted.