ABSTRACT
The European Union (EU) with its 28 countries has the collective goal of reducing CO2 emissions by pursuing a continental approach to energy security and sustainable development. First, there is an increasing number of conflicts accompanying the accelerated dissemination of renewable energies. This is an indirect result of government support for renewables, particularly in those countries where feed-in tariffs guaranteed by the Renewable Energies Act are combined with technology-specific rates of digression. In the case of wind turbines, people are afflicted by noise problems. In the case of biogas power generators, people who live nearby often feel disturbed by the offensive smell. And large-scale outdoor solar power plants provoke some critics to complain about the disfigurement of the rural landscape. Overall, the success or failure of political regulation in the renewable energy sector depends much on the quality of legislative readjustments and the fine-tuning of government measures and instruments, not least in response to price fluctuations in the renewables market.
