Germany 100% by 2050?

Germany, one of the world leaders in renewable energy technology, has the potential to derive all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.

This would mean that Germany would become the world’s first major industrial nation to kick the fossil-fuel habit, the country's Federal Environment Agency said last week.

The country already gets 16% of its electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources – three times higher than the level it had achieved 15 years ago.

"A complete conversion to renewable energy by 2050 is possible from a technical and ecological point of view," said Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Federal Environment Agency.

"It's a very realistic target based on technology that already exists – it's not a pie-in-the-sky prediction," he said.

Flasbarth said the Environment Agency's study found that switching to green electricity by 2050 would have major economic advantages to the nation, especially for the vital export-oriented manufacturing industry. It would also create tens of thousands of new ‘green collar’ jobs.

"The costs of a complete switch to renewables are a lot less than the costs to future generations that climate change will cause," he said.

Thanks to its Renewable Energy Act, Germany is the world leader in photovoltaic solar power technology, and also the second-biggest wind-power producer after the United States.

The German Government has set goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2020, and by 80-85% by 2050.