The German Feed-in Tariff
With the aim to promote the production of renewable energy (RE), the first German Feed-in Tariff (EEG) came into force in 2000. Since then it has been amended several times. The EEG serves the aim to promote renewable energies in order to increase the share renewable energy in the electricity mix and produce no greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) for a healthy environment and sustainable wealth creation for future generations.
This policy has been crucial in increasing the market share of renewable energy and has been extremely successful. In fact, the production of electricity from renewable sources in Germany was only 6.2% in 2000, increasing to 23.7% by 2012 and up to about 28 % in 2014. If this growth continuous accordingly, Germany could be powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
With a growing interest in promoting renewable energy around the world, the German Feed-in-Tariff is frequently cited as a transferable model and has served as an archetype for similar legislation in more than 80 countries worldwide, particular in China.