Ralf Fücks from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Chris Flavin from the Worldwatch Institute explored the prospects for renewable energy at the Goethe Institute’s “The Green Energy Revolution” discussion. Both speakers entertained the idea of a worldwide energy revolution in which the international community would come to rely entirely on renewable energy sources. While pointing to Germany’s outstanding progress in adopting renewable energy systems, these two energy experts revealed necessary steps to transform the energy sector and expressed optimism for renewable energy growth.

Fücks first explained that a “total transformation” in the energy sector requires the decoupling of energy consumption and economic growth. He proposed a 3-step approach for governments to effectively reduce energy consumption: 1) Improve electrical efficiency, 2) Change infrastructure (decentralizing energy systems), and 3) Establish energy-efficient transport. He added that cities can also contribute by installing PV facades and using geothermal power. Fücks also suggested that countries follow Germany’s Green Party’s footsteps to reach energy revolution by phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels, implementing strict efficiency standards, establishing legally binding targets, and investing in research and development for renewable energy (R&D). Noting Germany’s success, Fücks advocated the aforementioned strategies to reduce fossil fuel consumption and to set the stage for energy revolution.

Flavin contributed to the discussion by affirming that the world is already in the midst of an energy revolution. He supported his claim with evidence of increasing renewable energy growth rates and the natural benefits of the learning curve. Flavin presented statistics demonstrating increasing global growth rates of solar, wind, and biofuel energy production. In addition, he mentioned that the scaling up of renewable energy technology significantly lowers its costs. Flavin asserted that because Germany had largely covered the high initial costs for a variety of renewable energies, it was able to bring down their cost barriers for the rest of the world. Thus, he argued that adoption of renewable energy is becoming increasingly feasible and that by jumping on the bandwagon, countries can expedite the energy revolution.

Fücks and Flavin arrived at the conclusion that energy revolution can indeed occur and is not a so-called utopia. However, both noted that renewable energy policy is necessary to give rise to an energy revolution. Towards the end of their discussion, they expressed their concerns about the U.S. and its relatively slow progress in implementing renewable energy.

I found Fücks and Flavin’s points on Germany as a role model most intriguing. Germany’s rapid development of technology, willpower to explore renewable energy, and strong political support cause my own optimism for energy revolution. Moreover, many of the points they brought up were related to class discussions and to the current political landscape of the United States.

Flavin’s discussion of the technology transfer between the United States and Germany in the 1980s was particularly exciting. Flavin recalled that German energy advisors had visited California and were supposedly envious of its PV energy technology. Soon after, they began to import U.S. PV technology and later launched its own PV program, eventually becoming a leader in the industry and surpassing the U.S. in total number of solar panel installations.  In a similar manner, India’s Suzlon obtained turbine technology licenses from Germany’s Sudwind GmBH Windkrafttanlagen. As Germany did from the U.S., Suzlon obtained the technology and know-how from Sudwind, invested in its own R&D, and developed its own technology. This technology transfer between Suzlon and Sudwind and between Germany and the U.S. seems to promise even more growth of renewable energy.

Germany’s initiative to explore renewable energy like PV reveals the government’s impressive willpower to start an energy revolution. Flavin pointed out that even though its climate is not ideal for solar energy production, Germany is a leader in the PV industry. It seems absurd that a country with relatively little sunlight would develop its solar energy industry. However, by doing so, Germany attempts to maximize the potential for renewable energy production and demonstrates a thorough usage of its natural resources. Germany’s exploration of renewable energy has benefits for the international community because it brings down costs. Germany is testing the waters, and in effect, pioneering many of the energy systems that are being considered around the world. Thus, the country is performing a service that diversifies energy production within its borders and for the international community.

Fücks’s and Flavin’s conclusion struck me most during this discussion. Fücks and Flavin both mentioned that because Germany’s Green Party has a strong presence in German politics, policies to adopt renewable energy are swiftly passed and implemented. On the other hand, the polarized politics of the United States seems to slow down the progress made in adopting renewable energy. So how can experts convince politicians across the political spectrum to adopt renewable energies? Is it even possible to garner enough support in America for Fücks’s suggested energy-reducing strategies? Fücks and Flavin both seemed to point out that though heavy regulation would be criticized by conservatives, an American dominance in the renewable energy industry would be broadly popular among liberals and conservatives. To address this issue, policy-makers and average citizens need to amass support for renewable energy by spreading information about renewable energy’s benefits, especially the edge that it would provide to the American economy.

Factors such as America’s polarized politics lead me to ask: can this energy revolution take place in the rest of the world? Most of the energy technology transfer and growth Flavin pointed out had been occurring in G-20 major economies. Fücks did not address how smaller, less developed countries could go about transforming their energy sectors. How can developing countries find the expertise to create such policies, let alone find the means to invest in renewable energy R&D? Though “The Green Energy Revolution” discussion thoroughly investigated energy revolution in developed countries, developing countries (aside from China and India) were not addressed. Perhaps this is how our Proseminar discussions on leapfrogging energy technology in developing countries complements the discussion of a truly global energy revolution.