Co-operatives in Germany are driving forward the country’s renewable energy efforts, according to a report by Energy Transition.
The study, called German Energy Transition: Arguments for a renewable energy future, outlines how some 800million euros from 80,000 private investors has been put towards community-based renewables projects in the country.
“It is often said that only the wealthy can make such investments; for instance, critics charge that you need to own your own home to have a solar roof,” the report says. “But more than 90% of Germany’s energy co-operatives have already set up solar arrays, and a single share in such co-operatives costs less than 500 euros in two-thirds of the co-operatives – with the minimum amount less than 100 euros in some cases.”
