Renewable energy sources are booming in Germany, and electric utilities exported more power in 2012 than ever before. But energy experts warn that what sounds like progress has its downsides.
Germany began turning off its nuclear power plants 18 months ago, following the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Since then, many in the business and industrial communities and the general public have feared that the country would soon be facing energy shortages and even blackouts due to a lack of electricity.
Instead, Germany has produced so much electricity this year that it has actually exported its surplus. In 2011, Germany was a net importer of electricity, but this year, utility companies sent some 14.7 billion kilowatt hours of power abroad, according to preliminary figures made public by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).
Cheap power from Germany
Germany's neighbors have tapped into its energy grid
The rapid increase in power generation in Germany from wind, solar and hydro, however, has been accompanied by an equally rapid decrease in the price of electricity - and not just for German consumers, but also for large customers outside Germany.
This has resulted in a rise in demand for cheap power from Germany; in particular, from the Netherlands, where - due to the cheap imports - several domestic gas-driven power plants have been taken off the grid. Switzerland and Austria are also among Germany's best customers.
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