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Germans criticize limited use of energy alternatives

"There is not enough knowledge in Taiwan about the use of renewable energy."

Uwe Hartmann, chief executive officer of the DGS' Berlin Brandenburg section

The lack of ambitious conclusions on renewable energy at the recent National Conference on Energy can be attributed to the reluctance of Taiwanese officials to learn about renewable energy, the Taipei Times was told by renewable energy campaigners in Germany.

In the last five years, the German Society for Solar Energy (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Sonnenenergie, DGS), has been contacted by not only Taiwanese government officials but also researchers.

Uwe Hartmann, chief executive officer of the DGS' Berlin Brandenburg section, said on Tuesday that Germany's up-to-date information on renewable energy R&D and strategies for public education have been passed on to Taiwan but nothing has happened.

"There is not enough knowledge in Taiwan about the use of renewable energy," he said.

He has visited Taiwan several times and has helped the Ministry of Education (MOE) design green buildings that use renewable energy and are energy efficient.

However, he said that the influence of such projects was limited. He said the level of solar radiation in southern Taiwan is excellent for solar-energy applications but so far there have been only small-scale solar-thermal energy projects.

"Even in the north, we think there is a potential for using solar energy. But obviously, the Taiwan Power Company [Taipower] has little interest in that," he said.

Hartmann said that delegations from the MOE, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Industrial Technology Research Institute and universities have frequently visited Germany to examine renewable-energy projects.

However, he said, the minimal changes in Taiwan's energy policies reflect the reluctance of certain government agencies to admit that renewable energy has advantages.

Hartmann said it had taken Germany more than a decade to reach the stage where planners, non-governmental organizations, architects and decision-makers are well-informed about tie between sustainability and the adoption of renewable energy.

About 10 percent of electricity in Germany now comes from renewable energy. Sixty percent of the markets for Germany's renewable industry are overseas, he said.

Nowadays, governments and society are pushing for more renewable energy in Germany and public education about renewable energy is a priority for not only federal and local governments but also power companies.

For example, a three-year-long Solar Lab exhibition at the Energy Forum in Berlin, which opened last October, is designed to inform people about conserving energy. More than 3,000 people have visited the lab -- sponsored by the Berlin Power company BEWAG -- so far.

"All devices at the lab are designed to help visitors clearly sense abstract energy. Students can tug at a mechanism powered by solar panels. People can observe revolving artistic work connected to solar modules," exhibition organizer Christof Hute said.

Hute calls the lab's design a kind of "solar art performance."

He has also displayed artistic solar devices outdoors at key tourist spots, such as the Brandenburg Gate, in order to reach more people.

In 2003 Berlin generated 10 times more solar current by photovoltaic systems than in 1995. There are also 3,900 solar-thermal energy systems in the city.
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