German Energy Switch Saves $736 Billion by 2050, Researchers Say

Germany will save 570 billion euros ($736 billion) by 2050 if it sticks to its plan to replace atomic reactors and fossil sources with renewable sources of energy, a group of researchers said.

“The investments made now, at the beginning, will pay off within a foreseeable time frame and have a positive economic impact,” the Renewable Energy Research Association, a group of clean-energy research institutes, said today on its website.

The statement comes as Germany debates how to overhaul its clean-energy subsidy system, which has helped raise the share of renewables to 25 percent of the power mix, to contain rising costs. The fee consumers are paying via their electricity bills to fund renewables is expected to climb by about 50 percent next year after solar-panel installations exceeded forecasts.

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