Renewable energy: It’s not easy being green

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UK Only Article: 
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Cheating death

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Renewable energy

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BERLIN

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Even with new reforms, doubts remain about Germany’s energy transition

BRANDENBURG used to be called the sandbox of the Holy Roman Empire for its poor soil and marginal geography. Today a more appropriate moniker might be “the wind farm of the European Union” for all the spinning turbines that tower over the flat landscape. In Bavaria’s Holledau region endless rows of hop bines still undulate through the hills as they have for centuries; but today they share the south-facing slopes with solar panels. Germany’s Energiewende (“energy transition” or “revolution”) has transformed its countryside. 
The main tool in this transition is a policy of subsidising renewable power. Germany guarantees investors in green energy that their electricity is fed into the grid before …
Source: Utilities
Renewable energy: It’s not easy being green