Page 97 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

74 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

EU Policies
Germany jumped out in the lead of the GIR in the European Union with its FiT
legislation in 1990 (Clark and Cooke, 2013). Basically the FiT is an incentive
economic and financial structure to encourage the adoption of renewable
energy through government legislation. The FiT policy obligates regional or
national electricity utilities to buy renewable electricity at above-market rates.
Successful models like that exist such as the EU tax on fuels and the California
cigarette tax, both of which cut smoking dramatically in California and for
people to use mass transit and trains rather than drive their cars as much in the
European Union. However, they also provide incentives and metering mech-
anisms to sell excess power generated back to the power grid. Other EU
nations, especially Spain, followed, and the policy is slowly being developed
in Canada and some US states and cities. Chart A shows the economic impact
of the FiTs. Over 250,000 “green” jobs have been created in Germany alone.
The graphs in Chart A also show the growth in Germany of the solar and wind
industries and how this expansion is becoming global.
Germany is now the world’s leading producer of solar systems because it
has more solar systems installed than any other nation based on the creation of
world-leading solar manufacturing companies, solar units sold and installed
are measured by sales, amount of kilowatts per site, and records keep by the
local and national governments (Gipe, 2011). China took the lead at the end of
2011. The extensive use of solar systems by Germany is despite the fact that
the nation has many cloudy and rainy days along with significant snow in the
winter, which is common in northern Europe. Japan implemented in 2010 a
similar aggressive FiT system to stimulate its renewable energy sector and
regain renewable energy technological (solar and system companies and in-
stallations) leadership that it held in the early part of the 21st century. Mea-
surements were kept by the solar companies as well as local and national
governments. MITI, the Japanese national research organization, measures the
use of renewable energy systems on a quarterly basis. However, the aftermath
of the Japanese earthquake and destruction of the nuclear power plants in April
2011 could actually expedite renewable energy growth and installation
through a number of government programs and incentives that are being
proposed.
Other European countries have similar GIR programs as well. Denmark,
for example, will be generating 100% of its energy from renewable power
sources by 2050. While trying to meet that goal, the country has created new
industries, educational programs, and therefore careers. One good example of
where this policy has accomplished dramatic results is the City of Frederik-
shavn in the Northern Jutland region of Denmark. The city has 45% renewable
energy power now, and by 2015, it will have 100% power from renewable
energy sources (Lund, 2009). In terms of corporate development in the
renewable energy sector, for example, one Danish company, Vestas is now the