Germany is rolling back its vaunted feed-in tariff for renewable energy as the country sets records for solar and wind power generation. Legislators say that the policy has grown too expensive and now are developing other models to encourage renewable energy deployment.
A wind turbine in Saerbeck, Germany
When funding research, there's a debate over where to place your bets. The long-shot projects stand to make the biggest difference for humanity's problems, but they are expensive, time consuming and rarely pan out. I spoke with some Nobel Prize winners about their work and the need to support curiosity-driven research in an era of austerity.
Every year, Nobel winners gather in Lindau, an island in southern Germany, to talk about their work with young researchers
Both France and Germany have set ambitious clean energy goals, but they don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to nuclear energy, the largest source of carbon-free baseload electricity in both countries. However, they could leverage their respective strengths in pursuit of lower greenhouse gas emissions.
How to pronounce "Energiewende," German for "energy transition"
Though the wall fell more than a generation ago, relics of the divide still linger in Berlin. Since unification, Germany has struggled to bring the eastern part of the country up to par with the west, especially in the energy sector. But in some respects, East Germany has come out ahead, with a higher penetration of renewable energy.
Berlin from space. Courtesy of Chris Hadfield/NASA. Used with permission.
One of the harsh realities of Germany's energy transition is that German consumers pay some of the highest electricity rates in Europe as a result of taxes and subsidies for renewables. However, monthly bills end up being similar to those in the United States because German households tend to be smaller and more efficient.
A home in with solar panels in Berlin, Germany
At the world's biggest, most complicated science experiment, science agencies from around the world are building it in the most complicated way possible. The goal is to harness fusion, the reaction that powers the sun, to produce electricity here on earth. However, the project is over budget and behind schedule, leading some members to reevaluate what they hope to get out of it.
A welcome sign or a tombstone?
When temperatures rise, air pollution gets worse. Ozone and volatile organic compounds tend to form on hotter days in urban environments, sending the vulnerable to emergency rooms for heart and lung problems. German researchers found that under a changing climate, these factors converge to form a lethal threat.
Clear skies over Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany