Germany is one of the leading capitalist countries to promote green power projects; but as this article reveals, there are are numerous problems making it difficult to achieve their ambitious goals in a self-seeking capitalist economy. Such projects require long term commitments, but capitalist enterprises think in terms of quarterly profits. In order to attract technology corporations to build green power plants, they must be promised big profits, subsidies, etc. This inevitably puts more burden on the less powerful poor and low income people.
...costs are rising at a faster-than-expected rate. The average household in Germany currently pays €144 ($181) a year for these subsidies, and that figure looks set to rise to more than €200 in 2013. In all, it has been estimated that the operators of green power plants have been promised more than €200 million.
Such numbers are big enough to exacerbate social inequalities in Germany. Recipients of "Hartz IV" welfare benefits for the long-term unemployed, for example, receive a fixed sum for electricity and can't afford energy-saving fridges or washing machines. At the other end of the scale, the owners of well-located houses install solar panels on their roofs and are paid for the privilege. Meanwhile, industrial companies that use a lot of electricity are being given more and more tax breaks. Indeed, the Federal Network Agency has calculated that the country's biggest electricity guzzlers account for 18 percent of overall consumption, but bear only 0.3 percent of the costs associated with the EEG.
