Germany and the United States: A Comparison of Support for Wind Energy

Dr. Patricia A. Terry

Germany leads the world in per capita wind energy production and public acceptance for wind energy is very high compared to a lack of support observed in the United States. A comparative study delineates many reasons for this difference. First, the U.S. has recently gained economically through hydraulic fracturing and off-shore oil development, while Germany lacks oil and natural gases and views renewable energy as its economic driver. The formation of coalition governments in Germany has provided a voice for the Green Party and resulted in significant renewable energy policy legislation, while the U.S. has a more winner take all two party system in which lobby groups, particularly those for the fossil fuel industry, have greatly influenced energy policy away from renewables. Germans, in general, widely accept global climate change and a need to mitigate its causes, while both Bush presidential administrations in the U.S. attempted to discredit government scientists’ warnings of the effects of climate change. In addition, the difference in ownership of television channels between the two countries and what may be advertised influences people’s opinions of what energy sources are best. Perhaps the greatest reason for the success of wind energy in Germany, however, is the development of community wind farms, in which all citizens are involved in the siting of systems and have equal access to invest and profit and for which tax revenues return to the hosting community. Because of this there is no such thing as Wind Turbine Syndrome and the German saying is “every flicker is a euro.”