Renewable Energy Fosters a Boom in Depressed German State
Renewable Energy Fosters a Boom in Depressed German State – NYTimes.com
The Canadian government under Prime Minister Harper has repeatedly stated its aspirations to see Canada become an energy superpower. But beyond the government’s unbridled enthusiasm for Alberta’s tar sands, it is not clear what the government envisions for the country in terms of other forms of energy production. As recently as yesterday, Harper went further by stating that Canada will in fact be a “clean energy superpower” in the future.
If this is the case, we would do well to look to the example of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a state in Germany where a renewable energy gold rush is underway, giving the region good jobs and great promise. Germany has become a world leader in renewable energy and wants an even larger share of the $211 billion global market. A fifth of its electricity comes from renewables, up from 6 percent in 2000, and it aims to increase that to 35 percent in 2020.
What are Canada’s renewable energy goals? Will clean energy be a significant part of Canada’s energy plans in the future? Or will we continue to place all our eggs in the tar sands basket, becoming ever more dependent economically on a dirty and polluting energy of the past?
