In July 2016, the German government decided
to abolish the country’s feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable
electricity generation. Instead, the government now plans to auction contracts
for renewable electricity deployment to the lowest bidders.
The FIT is a policy that basically forces electric utilities
to buy renewable electricity from generators for a premium price. Since 1990,
the German FIT had played a key role in making the country a pioneer in the use
of renewable energy. Why did Germany replace the FIT after almost three decades
of unparalleled growth in renewable electricity generation?
