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I was dreaming of a machine
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that would drive over a field,
cut the straw
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and then produce pellets.
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And at some point I had the idea of building
my own, mobile pelleting system.
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And that's when the story started.
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My idea is to produce pellets out of
renewable resources and waste materials,
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and to generate energy from them.
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These waste materials, for example straw pellets,
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can provide power and heating,
and thus replace coal, oil and gas.
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In order to develop such a machine,
you need money, and a lot of it.
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And I thought maybe Mr. Roughani could get involved.
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That we should invest now to preserve
our resources over the long term,
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in order to even attain some kind of sustainability.
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Our world is being shaken by the struggle
for an energy transition, for peace, for justice.
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It is a fight for the preservation of creation.
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It has affected us all for many years now -
whether young or poor, safe at home
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or fleeing for dear life.
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But wealth is distributed extremely unequally.
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A billion people are starving every day,
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we'll soon have flows of refugees
that we can't even imagine right now,
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we need to be taking that into account too.
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The struggle for energy transition means calling
into question the most basic values of our age.
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Whoever wants to win it
will have to be involved in it every day.
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And that renewable energy also generates
revenue and financial profits.
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But I can't imagine that
such small-scale solutions -
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a few windmills here, a few solar panels there -
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will meet the real energy needs
of an industrial nation like Germany.
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I just can't imagine that.
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A lot of people share your concern.
But we have to change something here.
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I maintain, as do many other people,
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that we'll be using 100%
renewable energy by the year 2030...
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I don't know. What will we do
when the sun isn't shining?
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Just send the factory workers home?
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The things that are happening right now,
all the problems we have, everything,
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be it the floods we're having now, the famines,
the melting of the glaciers,
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everything we experience every day when
something in our environment is destroyed,
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we can't just not care about that.
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I was 24 years old,
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and I was attending a seminar by Dr Kleinwächter.
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And right at the end, the professor said:
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"When you go home now, please think about this:
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what will you say to your grandchildren -
at some point?
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Why did you burn up the environment?
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Why did you allow all this to happen?
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And I thought about it, and I thought
I won't say that to my grandchildren.
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POWER TO CHANGE - THE ENERGY REBELLION
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A film by Carl-A. Fechner
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Having a nice house some day.
Having a nice car, a nice life.
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Travelling and consuming as much as possible.
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I think that's what people get an education for,
what they study and work for.
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And so, the faith in renewable energy -
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I really believed in it as a young graduate.
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But the way society was developing seemed so
hesitant that at some point I lost my faith in it.
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That's why I'll admit I'm also sceptical
about projects like Edy Kraus' pelleting system.
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I'm an entrepreneur who has founded
a technology company, and also runs it.
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Our group of companies offers development services
and measuring technology for the car industry.
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For us, it's very important
to identify new trends early on.
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That's why I've met up with an expert
in change management in Berlin.
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...could be opportunities for your company.
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Sounds great.
But isn't it more of a PR stunt
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than a real principle driving your company?
At the end of the day,
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as a listed company,
you have to provide quarterly reports
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and not CO2 reductions -
the latter won't drive up your share price.
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Why shouldn't our solutions also help our clients
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to be both more efficient and more ecological?
- Yes.
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We're experiencing conflicts for limited resources.
Every one of us is worried, hears the news.
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The only thing many people haven't understood yet is
that ultimately the root cause of all these problems
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is the increasing need for energy and the competition
for these limited, usually still fossil, resources.
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Well, if we don't react now, it'll simply be too late.
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00:08:00,917 --> 00:08:06,625
And I'd love it if someone like you
applied their creativity to supporting us.
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Kiev, Ukraine
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I've taken an interest in issues
of war and peace my whole life.
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It's probably because I was born in Iran.
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And now the war in Ukraine,
I'm very preoccupied with that.
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This country spends 12 billion dollars
a year on gas imports.
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And at the same time there's a war going on in Ukraine,
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Russia has occupied Crimea and is also involved
in the war in Eastern Ukraine.
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I also couldn't get my conversation with Prof. Uhl,
the SAP Change Manager, out of my head.
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I was travelling to Ukraine on business,
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00:09:07,625 --> 00:09:12,292
and met up with two environmental activists,
Anja and Roman,
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to find out what Ukranians themselves actually think
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about the issue of energy and dependence on Russia.
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Wars are caused by numerous factors.
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But the struggle for resources is one
of the most decisive causes of war.
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The coal and nuclear industries were always
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a source of funding for totalitarian regimes.
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00:12:09,417 --> 00:12:13,542
Energy dependence leads to political impotence.
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If we stopped buying natural gas from Russia, say,
major firms like BASF would immediately go bankrupt.
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00:12:23,167 --> 00:12:27,167
Chemical company BASF is investing 2 billion euros
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into projects with Russian energy company Gazprom,
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and is thus expanding gas exploitation in Siberia.
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Who is supporting business with fossil fuels?
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“The energy transition is the most unsound governmental project
of the past few decades.” Michael Naumann, Former Secretary of State
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“The big energy companies' profits have
massively collapsed due to the energy transition.”
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00:13:03,167 --> 00:13:08,333
I work with data records about
people and companies,
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with statistics on macroeconomic relations.
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And then I give people advice
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about how to improve economic policy.
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00:13:19,625 --> 00:13:25,333
People who are driven by environmental concerns
and just want to push the energy transition,
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may not be convinced that
economic efficiency is important.
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So they set up this regime of subsidies and said:
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we'll guarantee a feed-in tariff
for 20 years, a fixed price
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for every kilowatt-hour of electricity you produce.
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It was just launched,
without regard for the economic costs.
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Thanks to the feed-in tariff,?
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almost a third of the electricity produced in Germany
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comes from renewable sources.
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00:14:03,375 --> 00:14:07,708
And yet the Bundestag has decided to abolish it.
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00:14:09,125 --> 00:14:13,750
I'm a scientist. I'm neutral.
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When I saw that a project
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that was being pushed in the right direction
by politicians is now being halted,
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I really felt a duty to say:
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no, I want to inform people about what is going on.
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If you look at what Germany actually paid...
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Without an energy transition, it'll cost us.
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00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:40,750
Without an energy transition, we'll be paying
more and more for oil and gas.
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Every year, the German economy
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spends around 100 billion euros on fossil fuels.
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00:14:49,875 --> 00:14:56,167
The development of renewable energies alone has
already generated savings of around 12 billion euros,
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which is a figure that unfortunately
we never hear in the media.
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The fight for electricity is a battlefield.
There are the lobbyists of the past,
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who want to impede the energy transition,
who simply make their money burning fossil fuels.
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00:15:17,625 --> 00:15:20,417
And now renewable energies have come along.
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They're getting cheaper and increase
the pressure to compete, for certain companies.
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Those companies don't want to lose their market power.
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Lobbyists try to discredit the energy transition.
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They spread myths that it's
too expensive, too inefficient, impractical...
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These claims aim to hinder the energy transition.
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So they can continue to make money
using the conventional business model.
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Electricity just makes up
a third of our entire energy supply.
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00:15:55,083 --> 00:15:58,375
But what we're currently not considering enough,
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is energy in buildings,
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and the transport sector. We also need
a sustainable mobility. That's all connected.
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Electric lorries...
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An experimental carrier that
has a range of about 50 km.
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A gross vehicle weight of 40 tonnes,
so probably a payload of around 30.
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It looks really futuristic.
One-man cabin...
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This is really impressive.
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Because for short journeys, the electrification
of goods transports really can improve our cities.
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I'm studying urban planning
at Dortmund Technical University.
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I also write a blog called 'future mobility',
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and advise municipalities
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Truck Electrification
and companies on transport issues,
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Truck Electrification
and on future developments.
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I've been doing it for over 4 years already,
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and I think I've found the right niche.
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Blog "future mobility"
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How can we organise all this transport
all over the world
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in a better, more environmentally-friendly,
more sustainable way?
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Ships are the backbone of global goods transport.
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00:17:32,375 --> 00:17:35,750
You could introduce Skysails.
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This company is trying
to use wind power, kites,
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the sailing technology.
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We could try to power ships entirely without fossil fuels.
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I'm imagining a completely new generation of ships.
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A mix of kite-pulling systems and fuel cells.
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This would already be a huge gain.
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The international shipping industry emits
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more carbon dioxide than all of Germany.
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90% of all transport worldwide
is powered by fossil fuels.
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Concerning electromobility,
actually nuclear energy or coal power
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also contribute to electricity production.
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So electromobility only makes sense once
we are getting all of our energy from renewables.
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There'll be no transport transition
without an energy transition, and vice versa.
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A cargo bike is like a low-tech...
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We're in the Institute for
Transportation Design in Braunschweig.
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People from different disciplines
work together here:
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Designers, design theoreticians, social scientists,
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futurologists, economists,
transport scientists and engineers.
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They aim to create a sustainable
mobility design.
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Sustainable mobility means
moving away from private ownership.
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Younger target groups are actually
driving a sharing economy.
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They're sharing mobility products,
and everyday products.
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There'll probably be less products,
because they are used by
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a community, a neighbourhood etc.
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The average power drill is used for about
19 minutes in its whole life.
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Completely inefficient.
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Cars are immobile for 23 hours a day.
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No company would buy a machine which
doesn't produce anything for 23 hours a day.
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00:19:56,833 --> 00:19:59,167
It makes more sense to share these cars,
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instead of everyone owning one and maybe
even using it as a status symbol.
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Defining who you are through
1.5 tonnes of sheet metal
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is a bit crazy anyway.
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We probably can't completely forego cars,
but we will use them very efficiently.
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We need vision, and it would be stupid
to think that we can let everything go on the way it is.
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It took a while,
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but I ended up finding an investor.
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So we were able to build the first pelleting system,
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and I then sold it to Franz Josef Tradt.
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It's broken down again!
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It's just not performing as it should.
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I want to be pelleting,
and not constantly trying to fix the thing.
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This is impossible!
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The machine was tested. The manufacturer said
it can produce a tonne on average.
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But if I can see now, after just 5 months:
the figures that were provided are wrong.
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Perfectly normal, dry wheat straw
that has been stocked indoors,
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runs through at around 600 kilos max.
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Has nobody ever checked the figures?
There's a meter on it!
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The specifications were provided by the manufacturer.
It's all data that we of course relied on.
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I have to rely on the technology,
on the manufacturer.
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That's the most important for me.
Having the correct data.
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Well, at any rate we have a bloody problem now.
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I've agreed to client orders for 1,200 tonnes now,
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and now I'm going to have to tell
my clients I can't fulfil them.
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You need to think twice about
who you're working with.
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I know it's a good concept.
I've spent enough time looking into it.
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It has to go on, it has to!
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It's over... I can't ride a dead horse.
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At some point I thought: well,
that was a dream, and now it's over.
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But it wouldn't let go of me.
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I knew, this guy is fighting for his own survival,
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and so am I, because I've
invested just as much into it.
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So we were both in the same boat,
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but you might say that I was the culprit
and he was the victim.
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And that was very, very difficult.
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There's one thing that matters to me:
if I give my word, then I stick to it.
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Anyone who knows me knows that.
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My greatest personal goal is
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for us to achieve a 100% changeover
to renewable energy as fast as possible.
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As head of a local
energy supplier,
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I gain a lot of knowledge.
You quickly get to a point
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00:24:00,125 --> 00:24:03,833
like on a boat, you sail fast
in one direction since you notice
223
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no, that direction is wrong.
224
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The Wind's blowing here,
so that's where to sail.
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However, there's a lot of work ahead.
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But we need to deal with it.
Together with the community, that's important.
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A crucial factor in making the change
are local energy suppliers.
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Many are already doing their bit:
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over 200 municipalities in Germany are already
self-sufficient in terms of energy.
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Bordesholm is on the way.
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In 1991, we were one of the
first local energy suppliers to
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take over its electrical grid
here in Schleswig-Holstein.
233
00:24:48,333 --> 00:24:51,042
And we really had to fight for it.
234
00:24:51,333 --> 00:24:57,250
We faced excessive prices, massive attacks.
235
00:24:57,458 --> 00:25:00,458
So it's... We really lived through a lot of things.
236
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:11,458
We give grants if a private household installs
a solar panel on their roof, or a windmill,
237
00:25:11,667 --> 00:25:15,333
or buys an electric car, of 2000 euros for example.
238
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:20,250
100 euro grants for e-bikes, energy-saving
washing machines, dryers...
239
00:25:20,375 --> 00:25:25,583
We've been providing such support
since we took over the grid.
240
00:25:27,333 --> 00:25:32,750
It would be good now
if we could find a place for a gas tank.
241
00:25:33,875 --> 00:25:37,542
So we could add a third
combined heat and power plant here...
242
00:25:37,667 --> 00:25:42,333
In future, we want to switch over to energy
production facilities here in town
243
00:25:42,458 --> 00:25:45,417
and become self-sufficient
244
00:25:45,542 --> 00:25:49,625
with batteries and biogas digesters
and a smart grid,
245
00:25:49,750 --> 00:25:52,250
to become as independent as possible.
246
00:26:00,083 --> 00:26:04,375
The huge advantage of having
your own grid is
247
00:26:04,583 --> 00:26:10,292
that value creation stays in the region,
contracts are awarded in the region.
248
00:26:16,667 --> 00:26:21,083
Newly-installed LEDs save 220,000 kilowatt-hours
of electricity a year here.
249
00:26:21,583 --> 00:26:26,167
We're now able to invest in a modern
broadband fibre optic network.
250
00:26:26,292 --> 00:26:31,792
On this basis, we'll set up an
intelligent energy network, a smart grid.
251
00:26:31,917 --> 00:26:35,875
That would have been impossible
without our own grids.
252
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,958
Looks good... with Internet,
telephone and television.
253
00:26:39,083 --> 00:26:43,333
There the fibre optics
so in future, we can have
254
00:26:43,458 --> 00:26:47,750
an intelligent management
for every household...
255
00:27:05,542 --> 00:27:11,458
Of course, it's always the best,
if you save energy.
256
00:27:11,583 --> 00:27:13,875
That's how you save the most resources.
257
00:27:38,917 --> 00:27:45,333
I was long-term unemployed,
and now I work as an energy saving helper.
258
00:27:45,458 --> 00:27:48,000
My work is pretty much no-risk.
259
00:27:48,125 --> 00:27:52,958
I know that I'll always find some area
where I can save energy.
260
00:27:53,083 --> 00:27:54,833
I never get bad reviews.
261
00:27:58,042 --> 00:28:04,625
50 colleagues are working
in Berlin alone on energy-saving checks.
262
00:28:04,750 --> 00:28:08,333
I think that we are already
making a big difference.
263
00:28:08,458 --> 00:28:12,167
It's happening all across Germany,
and if it was worldwide,
264
00:28:12,292 --> 00:28:14,792
then we would make a huge difference.
265
00:28:19,042 --> 00:28:21,292
- How many people live here?
- Two.
266
00:28:21,417 --> 00:28:27,833
Let's find some devices
and reduce your electricity consumption.
267
00:28:32,333 --> 00:28:34,375
This fridge is here because
268
00:28:34,583 --> 00:28:37,583
it's simply too big
for the size of the household.
269
00:28:37,708 --> 00:28:40,375
We're pretty pragmatic about it.
270
00:28:40,500 --> 00:28:45,292
How can we reduce
the storage volume?
271
00:28:45,500 --> 00:28:46,333
Thank you.
272
00:28:46,750 --> 00:28:50,125
Just cooling air is the most
expensive thing you can do.
273
00:28:50,333 --> 00:28:55,250
If you have empty compartments,
simply fill them with newspaper.
274
00:28:58,417 --> 00:29:02,000
You have a flow rate of around 12 “Hes.
275
00:29:02,250 --> 00:29:05,667
You can buy a flow limiter in any DIY shop.
276
00:29:05,792 --> 00:29:11,000
They cost around 2 euros
and have a huge effect.
277
00:29:11,625 --> 00:29:16,375
And if I add all of that up,
278
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:23,333
you could be saving around 400 euros,
that's around 35 euros a month.
279
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,208
Energy-saving lamps, LED lamps...
280
00:29:35,625 --> 00:29:38,375
And I'm sure that if we wanted to,
281
00:29:39,125 --> 00:29:42,667
we could achieve self-sufficiency
282
00:29:42,792 --> 00:29:46,750
through sun, wind and water in the future.
283
00:29:47,375 --> 00:29:53,833
If brilliant minds and people who have a lot of money
were to invest a load of money into this,
284
00:29:53,958 --> 00:29:57,833
then it would be possible for us to have
an absolutely great environment.
285
00:29:58,625 --> 00:30:02,625
The "great minds", for example
banks and insurance companies,
286
00:30:02,750 --> 00:30:06,542
however mainly invested in fossil fuels.
287
00:30:07,417 --> 00:30:10,292
To the tune of over 1000 billion dollars a year.
288
00:30:12,708 --> 00:30:18,875
But a countermovement is appearing: Divestment.
289
00:30:21,333 --> 00:30:22,875
- Mr. Roughani.
- Good morning.
290
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,458
Krohn, Alexander. Welcome to Heidelberg.
291
00:30:29,875 --> 00:30:34,083
I continued to think about my encounter with
the environmental activists from Ukraine.
292
00:30:34,208 --> 00:30:37,167
Germany is also dependent on oil and gas imports.
293
00:30:38,250 --> 00:30:42,208
I had the idea of investing in
energy-efficient construction.
294
00:30:42,750 --> 00:30:45,792
I'll show you. By the way,
we're already in Bahnstadt here.
295
00:30:49,583 --> 00:30:54,667
In Heidelberg, energy-saving flats
are being built for 12,000 people -
296
00:30:54,958 --> 00:30:58,083
which is also creating 7,000 jobs in the district.
297
00:31:02,667 --> 00:31:06,667
We're building passive houses, over a large area.
298
00:31:06,792 --> 00:31:09,750
This area used to be a goods depot.
299
00:31:10,375 --> 00:31:14,208
Here used to be rail tracks everywhere.
300
00:31:18,250 --> 00:31:23,375
In passive houses, we only need 15 kilowatt-hours
per square metre and year of heat energy.
301
00:31:23,542 --> 00:31:28,583
Compared to legal standards
for new builds, we're 70, 80% under.
302
00:31:28,792 --> 00:31:35,208
Bahnstadt will thus be the biggest
zero emission district in Europe.
303
00:31:46,250 --> 00:31:51,167
If you invest in an efficient house,
that's a long-lasting investment.
304
00:31:51,917 --> 00:31:55,167
We hope this will inspire other municipalities:
305
00:31:55,292 --> 00:31:58,667
an energy transition is possible.
306
00:32:02,458 --> 00:32:06,333
An energy transition also means a heating transition.
And that begins at home.
307
00:32:06,625 --> 00:32:11,667
In Germany, over half of the energy consumed
is used to produce heating.
308
00:32:13,292 --> 00:32:19,708
This heating is still not produced from solar energy.
90% of it comes from nuclear energy, coal, oil and gas.
309
00:32:19,958 --> 00:32:24,417
Solar heat installations warm up water
for heating and showering much more efficiently.
310
00:32:24,667 --> 00:32:28,583
They use the sun directly,
like here in Berlin-Reinickendorf.
311
00:32:33,208 --> 00:32:36,917
This is part of a general concept that starts
with energy consumption.
312
00:32:40,208 --> 00:32:43,667
Housing associations modernise
their housing stock's energy systems.
313
00:33:04,667 --> 00:33:06,875
I do energy saving checks
314
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:12,917
meaning I help the people I visit to reduce
their electricity and energy consumption.
315
00:33:13,042 --> 00:33:17,375
But they all say that something
has to come from the outside.
316
00:33:17,500 --> 00:33:21,917
We're renovating here, in the Märkisches Viertel.
317
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:27,542
We have 14,000 flats here and we're completely
modernising them from an energy perspective.
318
00:33:28,792 --> 00:33:31,750
So we're insulating the facade here,
changing the windows,
319
00:33:31,875 --> 00:33:34,458
insulating the roof, and the cellar ceilings.
320
00:33:34,583 --> 00:33:39,750
And this will ultimately make it
the biggest low-energy estate in Germany.
321
00:33:45,542 --> 00:33:47,417
- Enjoy your meal.
- Thank you.
322
00:33:49,792 --> 00:33:53,125
And what do the tenants get out
of this modernisation?
323
00:33:53,375 --> 00:33:54,208
Sorry.
324
00:33:56,708 --> 00:34:01,333
They use much less energy.
They have modern bathrooms.
325
00:34:01,458 --> 00:34:05,458
And they can decide
how much heating they need or not.
326
00:34:11,292 --> 00:34:15,542
The tenants thus make energy savings of 50%.
327
00:34:16,750 --> 00:34:22,333
Thanks to the modernisation, their overall rent
remains at roughly the same level for years.
328
00:34:24,417 --> 00:34:30,333
Meanwhile, where do the tenants go?
Do they just stay in their flats and put up with it?
329
00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:35,125
Even with such extensive works,
the tenants stay at home.
330
00:34:35,250 --> 00:34:38,000
But we're usually out after 3 weeks.
331
00:34:43,208 --> 00:34:48,375
So ultimately we created a forward-looking district
332
00:34:48,583 --> 00:34:52,000
that will retain its value in the near and distant future.
333
00:34:52,125 --> 00:34:56,500
It's a big investment, after all.
And the reviews show that it's worth it,
334
00:34:56,625 --> 00:34:59,292
in terms both of economics and sustainability.
335
00:35:15,125 --> 00:35:20,583
I saw, in the Märkisches Viertel,
energetic modernisation, huge roof areas...
336
00:35:20,792 --> 00:35:25,708
I live out in Hellersdorf. Out on the estate.
We also have flat roofs.
337
00:35:25,875 --> 00:35:30,833
Last summer my husband and I came home:
what are those huge black sheets?
338
00:35:30,958 --> 00:35:38,167
They'd set up a solar panel system on our roof.
All over the whole district.
339
00:35:38,333 --> 00:35:43,458
And so now I get my own solar energy
from my own roof, so to say.
340
00:35:43,625 --> 00:35:48,583
So when I make my morning espresso,
it's coming from my own roof.
341
00:35:49,125 --> 00:35:54,500
I'm proud that I can be a part of it,
without having to build a house.
342
00:35:54,625 --> 00:35:58,417
Just as a tenant in East Berlin.
343
00:35:58,542 --> 00:36:00,875
I didn't have to do a single thing.
344
00:36:04,667 --> 00:36:12,375
In Germany alone, there is a roof area of 1,100 square km
that could be used to produce electricity.
345
00:36:25,375 --> 00:36:31,292
Producing electricity and heating.
This makes you independent from energy imports.
346
00:36:31,417 --> 00:36:33,417
From Russia, for example.
347
00:36:45,458 --> 00:36:50,000
Shortly after our first meeting,
I travelled to Ukraine once more.
348
00:36:51,042 --> 00:36:55,833
Anja had invited me to find out more
about this energy dictatorship.
349
00:36:56,292 --> 00:36:57,792
We drove eastwards.
350
00:37:02,167 --> 00:37:06,167
I grew up in Iran
in very sheltered circumstances.
351
00:37:06,292 --> 00:37:08,708
But we did experience the Iran-Iraq war.
352
00:37:09,458 --> 00:37:12,292
That killed around a million people.
353
00:37:12,417 --> 00:37:17,250
The war lasted over nine years.
And I spent seven of those in Iran.
354
00:37:18,167 --> 00:37:22,042
Those are things that you'll always remember,
355
00:37:23,250 --> 00:37:25,917
and I don't think you every forget them.
356
00:38:53,375 --> 00:38:56,042
Your ID, passports!
357
00:39:39,750 --> 00:39:43,583
The home was bombed in June 2014.
358
00:39:45,667 --> 00:39:48,375
I've been working here for 40 years. 40 years.
359
00:39:49,042 --> 00:39:53,375
Our children's home was beautiful,
so cosy, so homely.
360
00:39:53,625 --> 00:39:55,625
I thought I'd be hit by the strike.
361
00:39:57,833 --> 00:40:02,167
They're in Kramatorsk in another children's home.
362
00:40:05,667 --> 00:40:07,333
It's so cold here!
363
00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:17,458
How can you ignore that
children and women live here?
364
00:40:17,708 --> 00:40:19,167
It makes no sense.
365
00:40:23,333 --> 00:40:25,833
They should stop, for the children's sake.
366
00:40:25,958 --> 00:40:30,000
There are children dying on both sides.
367
00:40:37,833 --> 00:40:41,542
I personally was confronted with the war
in school every day.
368
00:40:41,667 --> 00:40:47,708
We were systematically prepared for the eventuality
that we would have to go to the front.
369
00:40:47,875 --> 00:40:51,417
But then my parents made the decision
370
00:40:52,083 --> 00:40:54,792
to send me abroad to my older brother,
371
00:40:54,917 --> 00:40:59,500
who'd already lived in
a children's home in Germany.
372
00:40:59,625 --> 00:41:05,042
I couldn't speak a word of German or go
to a telephone box.
373
00:41:05,250 --> 00:41:11,333
It's like the end, as if nothing will go on
in your life after this.
374
00:41:12,708 --> 00:41:19,000
My brother hadn't told anybody
that I was coming.
375
00:41:20,042 --> 00:41:22,542
But of course they took good care of me
376
00:41:22,667 --> 00:41:26,167
and gave us a room together.
377
00:41:26,958 --> 00:41:32,542
Then my life in Germany started.
With two small suitcases,
378
00:41:32,667 --> 00:41:36,042
100 deutschmark, in Berlin,
in the summer of 87.
379
00:41:36,167 --> 00:41:40,625
I just took everything that
happened to me in my stride.
380
00:41:43,833 --> 00:41:46,958
When I found out that he had
been at a children's home too,
381
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,750
I liked to caress him.
382
00:41:54,583 --> 00:41:57,208
I'm touched by such children.
383
00:42:02,208 --> 00:42:06,125
In 2015, over a million people fled to Europe
384
00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:09,417
just like Amir did all those years ago.
385
00:42:12,875 --> 00:42:16,000
At the moment, I believe Ukraine is at a crossroads.
386
00:42:16,625 --> 00:42:18,500
Do they choose the Russian way,
387
00:42:19,208 --> 00:42:24,583
and end up keeping their
dependence on Russia.
388
00:42:25,167 --> 00:42:29,458
Or do they go the way of the West
and create a new dependence.
389
00:42:29,667 --> 00:42:33,542
There are already contracts with Shell,
390
00:42:34,208 --> 00:42:36,833
with ExxonMobil and with Chevron,
391
00:42:37,208 --> 00:42:41,000
about the extraction of shale gas.
392
00:42:41,667 --> 00:42:48,083
And if the Americans and the Europeans themselves
extract shale gas here
393
00:42:48,208 --> 00:42:50,458
and feed it into the pipeline,
394
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,792
then Russia will be out of this business.
395
00:42:53,917 --> 00:42:59,542
And strangely it's exactly where these exploration
sites are that the war is taking place.
396
00:44:17,708 --> 00:44:21,125
Solar rays simply come down onto the Earth's surface,
397
00:44:21,250 --> 00:44:26,208
and I don't need to go to war
to gain access to this resource.
398
00:44:26,333 --> 00:44:30,000
And they're everywhere,
just like the wind.
399
00:44:30,417 --> 00:44:35,833
We need to keep weapons
away from these areas.
400
00:44:36,833 --> 00:44:41,667
And to use the money differently,
to promote economic development.
401
00:47:25,292 --> 00:47:31,250
Ukraine is not alone in having
these fossil fuel subsidies.
402
00:47:35,250 --> 00:47:41,208
Global subsidies for renewable energies
come to 120 billion US dollars,
403
00:47:41,250 --> 00:47:47,667
those for fossil fuels come to
5300 bill/on US dollars per year.
404
00:47:47,792 --> 00:47:54,667
Governments spend more on environmentally
damaging fuels than they do on health care.
405
00:47:57,083 --> 00:48:02,458
For decades we have had wars in the regions
that produce crude oil.
406
00:48:03,125 --> 00:48:06,583
The Islamic State has seized several oil fields
407
00:48:06,708 --> 00:48:11,417
and is using the income to recruit
mercenaries, weapons and much more.
408
00:48:11,542 --> 00:48:17,500
Our consumption of oil, which we use
in our cars and our heating systems,
409
00:48:17,625 --> 00:48:23,458
is financing the very terrorism that threatens us.
This has to stop.
410
00:48:27,917 --> 00:48:32,042
In Europe now, renewable energies
can only continue to grow
411
00:48:32,167 --> 00:48:35,292
if we stop using the old sources of energy.
412
00:48:36,417 --> 00:48:39,500
But there are major economic interests behind these.
413
00:48:39,625 --> 00:48:43,667
So they're fighting to maintain their business
414
00:48:43,792 --> 00:48:46,917
with coal, oil, natural gas, and also nuclear power.
415
00:48:47,042 --> 00:48:50,625
And they do so using their huge media power.
416
00:48:50,750 --> 00:48:56,125
In 2013, there were posters all over Germany:
417
00:48:56,250 --> 00:48:59,542
"Help, the energy transition is growing unaffordable!"
418
00:49:00,375 --> 00:49:03,250
Mrs. Ternus, who is actually behind all this?
419
00:49:03,375 --> 00:49:08,583
This was an action carried out by the INSM -
Initiative for a New Social Market Economy.
420
00:49:08,708 --> 00:49:15,708
It's funded by the Federation of German Industries
and the Metal Industry and commercial enterprises.
421
00:49:15,833 --> 00:49:17,917
What does this mean in practice?
422
00:49:18,042 --> 00:49:23,417
The Initiative for a New Social Market Economy
influences opinion even at the school level,
423
00:49:23,542 --> 00:49:30,750
by developing and producing work sheets
for teachers on specific political issues.
424
00:49:31,625 --> 00:49:36,000
They work with a number of experts,
425
00:49:36,125 --> 00:49:41,750
who if you look closer come out of institutes
that are financed by the industry itself,
426
00:49:41,875 --> 00:49:46,958
such as for example the EWI Institute,
which is partly financed by E.on and RWE.
427
00:49:47,458 --> 00:49:51,500
People think they're listening to
a wide range of different voices.
428
00:49:51,625 --> 00:49:57,708
But it actually turns out to have a very clear bias.
429
00:49:57,750 --> 00:50:04,292
Government - Expert Advisory Board for econmics
energy suppliers E.on and RWE - econmics institutes RWI and EWI
430
00:50:04,333 --> 00:50:08,792
And if you endlessly repeat them,
pure speculations
431
00:50:08,917 --> 00:50:12,333
or even lies can come to sound like truths.
432
00:50:14,833 --> 00:50:23,792
Oi! and gas companies in the US spend around
400,000 dollars a day on lobbying.
433
00:50:25,042 --> 00:50:28,833
Purely to put a stop to the energy revolution.
434
00:50:29,333 --> 00:50:32,042
Do you have an example of actual lies?
435
00:50:32,167 --> 00:50:36,083
The statement made during the debate
on the Renewable Energy Law:
436
00:50:36,208 --> 00:50:40,292
"Subsidies will lead to a huge rise in electricity tariffs."
437
00:50:40,417 --> 00:50:41,917
That's simply not true.
438
00:50:42,750 --> 00:50:49,125
The real reason is a new calculation method
and the exceptions made for industry.
439
00:50:49,750 --> 00:50:52,917
Industry saves five billion euros a year
440
00:50:53,042 --> 00:50:56,208
because it pays a reduced EEG contribution.
441
00:50:56,833 --> 00:51:00,792
Mrs. Ternus, 5 billion euros -
who is compensating for that?
442
00:51:01,292 --> 00:51:03,833
Well, the consumer.
443
00:51:03,958 --> 00:51:08,042
Thank you for talking to us,
what fascinating insights.
444
00:51:10,750 --> 00:51:14,542
Over 2,000 companies benefit from the EEG exceptions.
445
00:51:19,625 --> 00:51:27,042
Thanks to this discount, the Triment aluminium factories,
for example, pay 240 billion euros a year less for electricity.
446
00:51:33,250 --> 00:51:38,250
We have to pay money for coal,
for the nuclear "bad bank",
447
00:51:38,375 --> 00:51:44,083
and in the most important, forward-looking sector,
the energy transition, we just let it happen.
448
00:51:52,625 --> 00:51:58,833
Over the past year, 40,000 employees
in the solar industry lost their jobs.
449
00:51:59,458 --> 00:52:02,667
The coal industry still has around 50,000 employees.
450
00:52:02,792 --> 00:52:06,875
But nothing is said about the solar industry.
451
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:10,375
And that has a lot to do with
the influence of the lobbies.
452
00:52:10,500 --> 00:52:12,333
The world is topsy-turvy.
453
00:52:12,500 --> 00:52:16,667
The traditional energy industry
is currently under enormous pressure.
454
00:52:16,792 --> 00:52:19,917
This has a lot to do
with changes in recent years,
455
00:52:20,042 --> 00:52:24,917
a lot to do with the energy transition
that was launched a few years ago.
456
00:52:25,042 --> 00:52:30,458
And all these traditional companies
have to seriously rethink their business model.
457
00:52:31,208 --> 00:52:37,750
And people in companies who have been taken by
surprise shouldn't be judged too severely for it.
458
00:52:39,708 --> 00:52:44,083
With just one nuclear power plant,
big conventional operators make
459
00:52:44,250 --> 00:52:46,958
between 300 and 450
million euros a year.
460
00:52:51,500 --> 00:52:56,542
But nuclear power is by far the most expensive form
of energy for the next thousand generations.
461
00:52:56,708 --> 00:53:00,583
What about the nuclear waste?
It'll radiate for thousands of years.
462
00:53:00,708 --> 00:53:05,208
Is some future generation just meant to deal with that?
It's crazy, what we're doing here!
463
00:53:12,333 --> 00:53:17,250
It has been being dismantled
for the past 15 years.
464
00:53:18,458 --> 00:53:22,125
Can we use abandoned nuclear
power stations as energy stores?
465
00:53:23,250 --> 00:53:24,667
Here are the facts:
466
00:53:25,458 --> 00:53:29,458
22 nuclear power stations will be
dismantled over coming years in Germany.
467
00:53:31,958 --> 00:53:35,958
They'll be leaving behind 100,000 tonnes of
radiation-contaminated steel and concrete.
468
00:53:39,333 --> 00:53:43,000
That has to be put into a nuclear waste
repository somewhere. No one knows where.
469
00:53:45,500 --> 00:53:47,958
The legacy of a generation of greed.
470
00:53:57,333 --> 00:54:03,000
But that leaves 11 million tonnes of
uncontaminated concrete. And that we can use.
471
00:54:11,458 --> 00:54:15,750
We want to build a storage system
for renewable energy
472
00:54:16,417 --> 00:54:21,125
on sites where nuclear power
stations are being dismantled.
473
00:54:22,625 --> 00:54:28,333
The more solar and wind power stations
are connected to the network,
474
00:54:28,500 --> 00:54:33,125
the more storage we need.
475
00:54:33,292 --> 00:54:37,292
To fully reap the benefits of renewable energy,
476
00:54:37,417 --> 00:54:41,792
we need storage for times at which
this energy can't be produced:
477
00:54:41,917 --> 00:54:46,292
during the night for solar,
or when the windmills can't turn.
478
00:54:48,333 --> 00:54:52,292
What's great is how simple it is.
Keep it short and simple.
479
00:54:52,958 --> 00:54:55,958
You dig a hole. Fill it with water.
480
00:54:56,750 --> 00:55:02,417
And you let a heavy cylinder made out of
old concrete from the nuclear power station
481
00:55:02,542 --> 00:55:04,333
move up and down in this hole.
482
00:55:04,458 --> 00:55:07,208
When it sinks down,
it pushes the water below it
483
00:55:07,333 --> 00:55:11,417
and this water drives a turbine
that generates electricity.
484
00:55:12,125 --> 00:55:16,417
And in order to push the cylinder
upwards, you have a pump
485
00:55:16,542 --> 00:55:21,417
which pumps water under the piston
and slowly lifts it up.
486
00:55:21,542 --> 00:55:26,167
And then it's kept there
until you need the energy again.
487
00:55:29,500 --> 00:55:35,875
We can build storage for up to 1,600 MW like this,
more than any nuclear power station can provide.
488
00:55:37,542 --> 00:55:41,583
This is just great, because we need
storage capacity to be able
489
00:55:41,708 --> 00:55:46,375
to change over from conventional energy
as fast as possible, push its use down to zero,
490
00:55:46,500 --> 00:55:51,583
and change over to renewable energy as far
as possible. Or actually, to 100% renewables.
491
00:55:58,750 --> 00:56:04,000
Then comes the question: what about when the wind is
down? What happens to heating and electricity then?
492
00:56:04,125 --> 00:56:08,625
It's simple: it's only then
that we'll switch on the biogas plants.
493
00:56:08,750 --> 00:56:14,083
They'll then produce the heating and electricity we
need and can thus provide the necessary adjustment.
494
00:56:37,750 --> 00:56:39,875
But we also need more storage.
495
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:45,000
So for example it's possible to create
a gas that is similar to natural gas
496
00:56:45,125 --> 00:56:48,375
using excess wind energy,
it's technically possible.
497
00:56:48,500 --> 00:56:51,750
And this storage technology
has huge advantages,
498
00:56:51,875 --> 00:56:57,250
because it also connects the transport sector
to wind and solar power production.
499
00:56:59,667 --> 00:57:03,417
Here in Werlte, we've built the biggest
power to gas plant in the world.
500
00:57:03,625 --> 00:57:07,667
This is where we use excess power
to produce the fuel of the future.
501
00:57:12,042 --> 00:57:16,000
Whenever the windmills are turning and
no electricity consumers are available,
502
00:57:16,042 --> 00:57:17,750
we switch on this plant.
503
00:57:18,583 --> 00:57:22,917
Then, first, hydrogen is produced
using the excess electricity.
504
00:57:23,042 --> 00:57:28,292
At the same time, biogas from the neighbouring
biogas plant is processed to produce raw biogas,
505
00:57:28,417 --> 00:57:30,000
and the CO2 is extracted.
506
00:57:30,125 --> 00:57:35,250
And the hydrogen and CO2 are then methanised,
meaning that a new fuel is produced.
507
00:57:55,500 --> 00:58:00,083
It's very important to us
to develop fuels that bind CO2,
508
00:58:00,208 --> 00:58:03,542
that use CO2 as a recycling material.
509
00:58:03,667 --> 00:58:08,458
This offers us huge potential to connect heating,
mobility and the electricity sector.
510
00:58:08,583 --> 00:58:13,750
We have over 6,000 biogas plants in Germany,
we have over 10,000 wastewater treatment plants.
511
00:58:13,875 --> 00:58:18,875
If we use the CO2 from these plants, we could build
thousands of these power to gas plants.
512
00:58:21,833 --> 00:58:25,708
It's important for car manufacturers
to think about the future too.
513
00:58:26,167 --> 00:58:30,750
But we really need
people who have visions and dreams,
514
00:58:30,875 --> 00:58:33,417
and we need people
with some power of persuasion.
515
00:58:33,625 --> 00:58:36,667
Think outside the box,
think in a revolutionary way,
516
00:58:36,792 --> 00:58:40,917
go beyond the usual limits,
but do what you think is right.
517
00:58:41,083 --> 00:58:46,625
And suddenly a complete restructuring,
a very decentralised energy system may be possible.
518
00:58:46,833 --> 00:58:51,708
And then it won't be the big firms ruling the game,
but rather many small ones helping out.
519
00:58:53,458 --> 00:58:57,583
We simply have to say we want
to move away from conventional fuels,
520
00:58:57,708 --> 00:59:01,125
not all of a sudden,
but by phasing them out gradually,
521
00:59:01,250 --> 00:59:04,667
just like the plan for the nuclear phaseout, really.
522
00:59:04,792 --> 00:59:11,417
And when renewable energy rises, regulating energy will
be provided by battery power plants like in Schwerin.
523
00:59:19,208 --> 00:59:24,667
This is the power plant of the future: a battery
power plant. It's quiet. It's very compact.
524
00:59:24,792 --> 00:59:28,292
And it can easily be integrated
into a residential area.
525
00:59:30,750 --> 00:59:34,792
We can provide a much better service
than what coal and nuclear offer.
526
00:59:34,917 --> 00:59:39,375
We're all used to having 220 volts
and 50 Hertz in our plugs.
527
00:59:39,500 --> 00:59:44,583
In order to offer this, conventional power plants
compensate for frequency deviation.
528
00:59:44,708 --> 00:59:51,708
This means they constantly have to regulate
for the frequency to remain stable.
529
00:59:51,875 --> 00:59:57,833
With this battery, we're replacing the part of
the power plant that regulates this frequency,
530
00:59:57,958 --> 01:00:00,208
so we can retire the coal-fired plant.
531
01:00:00,333 --> 01:00:06,750
How many battery power plants would we need
in Germany to replace coal and nuclear power plants?
532
01:00:06,875 --> 01:00:12,042
If we take into account what power plants do
to stabilise the frequency,
533
01:00:12,292 --> 01:00:17,958
then we'd need to build 100 to 120
of these batteries in Germany
534
01:00:18,125 --> 01:00:21,542
in order to be able to shut down around 6 power plants.
535
01:00:23,458 --> 01:00:27,375
The investment in battery storage -
a one-off cost of one billion euros -
536
01:00:27,542 --> 01:00:31,042
would furthermore be significantly cheaper
than operating the 6 coal-fired power plants:
537
01:00:32,042 --> 01:00:35,750
1.4 billion euros per year.
538
01:00:40,708 --> 01:00:46,625
Well, here in Bordesholm we'd be very
interested in setting up such a plant.
539
01:00:46,833 --> 01:00:53,417
Maybe at some point we'll all have a small battery at
home that you can hook up to an intelligent network,
540
01:00:53,542 --> 01:00:58,000
and this will be a service that will be
provided by every electricity consumer.
541
01:00:58,833 --> 01:01:03,292
This is how we create big storage capacity:
through decentralised storage facilities.
542
01:01:04,792 --> 01:01:08,750
The American entrepreneur Elon Musk
wants to produce millions of them at a low cost.
543
01:01:09,417 --> 01:01:11,583
A visionary man and an energy rebel.
544
01:01:30,292 --> 01:01:34,458
Entrepreneur Elon Musk on Battery Storage
545
01:01:59,667 --> 01:02:09,417
Elon Musk is building the biggest battery factory in the world.
This could change the world's energy supply.
546
01:02:39,750 --> 01:02:43,208
I think that if we want
a more positive take on the future,
547
01:02:43,333 --> 01:02:47,667
we need many more creative people
to bring innovative ideas to the market,
548
01:02:47,792 --> 01:02:53,333
to inspire us, to take people with them,
in order to achieve this kind of transformation.
549
01:02:57,583 --> 01:03:01,583
It needs to not weigh much to be efficient,
and it must be safe.
550
01:03:01,792 --> 01:03:04,208
Because this is a car for urban mobility...
551
01:03:04,458 --> 01:03:08,083
charged with renewable energy
and can really change things...
552
01:03:08,333 --> 01:03:13,583
Technology follows a social desire.
We start with new forms of technology,
553
01:03:13,708 --> 01:03:16,958
but above all with new forms of social innovation:
554
01:03:17,083 --> 01:03:23,792
sharing economy, car sharing, cycling,
flying less, consuming regional products.
555
01:03:24,042 --> 01:03:28,375
There is one high-impact change
I can make, as a private individual:
556
01:03:28,500 --> 01:03:31,167
it's air travel and eating meat.
557
01:03:37,625 --> 01:03:41,500
We're projecting that the volume
of traffic will triple by 2050.
558
01:03:41,708 --> 01:03:43,750
This is the biggest challenge.
559
01:03:43,958 --> 01:03:48,417
The rising global population,
rising consumption, rising mobility.
560
01:03:48,667 --> 01:03:52,583
The more products on the roads,
the more vehicles drive around,
561
01:03:52,792 --> 01:03:56,167
the bigger the volume of steel
and concrete infrastructure.
562
01:03:56,375 --> 01:04:03,583
25 billion tonnes of concrete are
processed across the world every year.
563
01:04:07,250 --> 01:04:13,667
Between 2011 and 2013,
China used more concrete than the USA throughout the 20th century.
564
01:04:14,708 --> 01:04:20,167
To make concrete, you need cement.
Cement production releases huge quantities of CO2.
565
01:04:32,708 --> 01:04:37,042
Celitement is a cement substitute.
566
01:04:40,583 --> 01:04:46,625
The production of Celitement releases
up to 50% less CO2.
567
01:05:04,542 --> 01:05:07,708
But the construction industry
insists on using cement.
568
01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:08,958
For the moment.
569
01:05:12,583 --> 01:05:14,292
Other sectors are already
much more advanced.
570
01:05:40,167 --> 01:05:43,167
We have completely transitioned to
100% electricity from renewable sources.
571
01:05:43,292 --> 01:05:47,667
This applies worldwide,
to all our data processing centres and buildings.
572
01:05:49,625 --> 01:05:54,708
On a global level, data processing centres
produce as much CO2
573
01:05:54,917 --> 01:05:55,917
as air travel.
574
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:06,125
Google clocks up almost 4 billion searches a day.
575
01:06:06,250 --> 01:06:10,167
And every one of them requires energy.
576
01:06:12,708 --> 01:06:17,542
This data processing centre uses considerably
less energy than the global average.
577
01:06:18,625 --> 01:06:24,583
Mainly thanks to its intelligent cooling system
and radically improved hardware.
578
01:06:33,833 --> 01:06:39,333
By focussing on our emissions and on
the business operations connected to them,
579
01:06:39,458 --> 01:06:44,625
be it our fleet of vehicles, our electricity
consumption in data processing centres,
580
01:06:44,792 --> 01:06:47,375
heating in our buildings, or telepresence,
581
01:06:47,500 --> 01:06:53,167
we've managed to avoid costs of around
260 million euros over the past 6 years.
582
01:06:59,167 --> 01:07:03,583
And these solutions, which other companies
can also use through our software,
583
01:07:03,708 --> 01:07:06,500
have an incredible multiplier effect.
584
01:07:15,958 --> 01:07:20,417
When my son was born with a heart defect,
585
01:07:20,542 --> 01:07:22,167
I also realised
586
01:07:23,625 --> 01:07:27,500
that the time I spend with him is
587
01:07:29,292 --> 01:07:32,417
more important than anything else. And...
588
01:07:35,208 --> 01:07:40,625
And that fundamentally changed my
personal attitude to my work, to my performance,
589
01:07:40,750 --> 01:07:44,833
to where I invest my time.
590
01:07:50,708 --> 01:07:54,417
We can all change.
But we need to see the point of it.
591
01:07:54,542 --> 01:07:58,667
And we will see this point
once we have understood
592
01:07:58,792 --> 01:08:02,625
that it will be personally
beneficial to us, and also to society.
593
01:08:02,750 --> 01:08:08,500
This means that we need to increase our awareness
of which values really matter in the world.
594
01:08:10,958 --> 01:08:17,458
And often it's the case that we lack the belief
or the idea that a process of transformation
595
01:08:17,583 --> 01:08:22,208
can lead to success, and so we avoid change.
596
01:08:22,750 --> 01:08:24,833
We don't want to take any risks.
597
01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:29,625
But in my life, changes have
always brought me further.
598
01:08:30,375 --> 01:08:33,417
The big transformation
won't come from the top down,
599
01:08:33,542 --> 01:08:37,917
won't be managed by somebody, but from
600
01:08:37,958 --> 01:08:39,333
the bottom up, through numerous small changes.
601
01:08:50,667 --> 01:08:54,708
My client, Mr. Tradt,
has found a new pelleting system
602
01:08:54,833 --> 01:08:57,083
that should perform well at last.
603
01:09:00,125 --> 01:09:01,792
So we've tried that out.
604
01:09:13,583 --> 01:09:16,250
- Greetings.
- We can start pelleting now.
605
01:09:16,375 --> 01:09:18,958
- Yes, we can.
- Good. That's a good thing.
606
01:09:19,083 --> 01:09:21,875
Let's see the barn where the straw is stored.
607
01:09:41,042 --> 01:09:43,500
Franz Josef. Let's get started.
608
01:09:44,083 --> 01:09:45,417
OK, I'll let it run.
609
01:09:48,792 --> 01:09:50,000
Now it's working.
610
01:10:13,042 --> 01:10:14,208
Look at that.
611
01:10:15,833 --> 01:10:16,833
Yes, wow.
612
01:10:17,958 --> 01:10:21,000
Excellent quality now. Hardly any dust.
613
01:10:21,875 --> 01:10:22,708
Great.
614
01:10:37,333 --> 01:10:38,250
Look at this!
615
01:10:39,292 --> 01:10:42,250
Crazy! Crazy, look at that.
616
01:10:42,375 --> 01:10:46,458
It's running at almost 1.1 tonnes now
and it's only just got going.
617
01:10:46,667 --> 01:10:50,708
Now we've done it,
you've really proved your stamina.
618
01:10:50,833 --> 01:10:56,000
You've really kept going.
I have a huge amount of respect for you.
619
01:10:56,917 --> 01:10:57,917
Give me five.
620
01:10:58,417 --> 01:11:03,958
We ended up pelleting
1.2 and 1.3 tonnes in an hour here.
621
01:11:04,542 --> 01:11:05,750
For the first time.
622
01:11:06,333 --> 01:11:11,583
And we were all happy
that it worked like that.
623
01:11:12,333 --> 01:11:15,500
We have endless amounts of
biomass at our disposal.
624
01:11:15,625 --> 01:11:20,500
Straw alone comes to around
13 million tonnes a year that we can use.
625
01:11:20,625 --> 01:11:25,917
And that's not the end of it.
For example, we're thinking about dead leaves.
626
01:11:26,625 --> 01:11:30,833
All municipalities and towns
could collect their dead leaves
627
01:11:30,958 --> 01:11:35,792
and then they could be pelleted
and immediately used to produce energy.
628
01:11:36,542 --> 01:11:40,417
We're on the right path.
The change is happening.
629
01:11:40,875 --> 01:11:41,750
But...
630
01:11:42,292 --> 01:11:46,292
it's too slow. We don't have time.
We have to react quicker.
631
01:11:47,042 --> 01:11:53,042
We can't build up any bureaucratic barricades.
We should be pulling them down instead!
632
01:11:53,917 --> 01:11:58,042
Hermann Scheer, a brilliant man,
and Mr. Fell, they had a pivotal role.
633
01:11:58,167 --> 01:12:03,625
They created the Renewable Energy Law,
which has set an example for the whole world.
634
01:12:03,750 --> 01:12:07,917
And now that's being destroyed!
And now we're relying on coal.
635
01:12:08,042 --> 01:12:10,208
Who can understand that?
636
01:12:10,417 --> 01:12:13,833
Well of course, many things
play a role in negotiations
637
01:12:13,917 --> 01:12:17,208
between people,
in particular of course in economic life,
638
01:12:17,375 --> 01:12:22,958
and power is a part of that, so that's exactly
what the social market economy tries to prevent,
639
01:12:23,083 --> 01:12:28,542
the power that can be abused to take people
on the other side of the market to the cleaners.
640
01:12:28,667 --> 01:12:35,917
Politicians want to shape things. To do that they
need a majority. Therefore, they have to convince people.
641
01:12:36,167 --> 01:12:40,667
They're watching it all go wrong.
And it will all go wrong.
642
01:12:41,083 --> 01:12:45,667
That's the way it is! So I ask myself:
what's happened to intelligence?
643
01:12:50,333 --> 01:12:55,083
The Earth's power supply could
be provided by a mix of wind power,
644
01:12:57,417 --> 01:12:58,750
solar power,
645
01:13:01,208 --> 01:13:02,542
biomass,
646
01:13:03,625 --> 01:13:06,500
and other renewable energy sources.
647
01:13:11,375 --> 01:13:12,167
Heating
648
01:13:12,417 --> 01:13:16,958
could be produced mainly from geothermal energy,
solar energy and biomass.
649
01:13:20,417 --> 01:13:23,000
We could reduce our energy consumption.
650
01:13:27,500 --> 01:13:32,167
Current fluctuations could be counterbalanced
continuously through a combination of storage systems
651
01:13:34,375 --> 01:13:37,875
and decentralised power plants.
652
01:13:42,833 --> 01:13:47,000
How these dual function power plants
could be intelligently managed
653
01:13:47,167 --> 01:13:49,750
is already the subject of research today
654
01:13:56,417 --> 01:13:57,833
and this research shows that
655
01:13:58,083 --> 01:14:01,333
this is what the future could look like.
656
01:14:13,708 --> 01:14:16,250
25 of these wind power plants could even
657
01:14:16,458 --> 01:14:18,958
supply the Emden VW factory with electricity.
658
01:14:28,167 --> 01:14:32,583
That's the production of 225,000 cars a year.
659
01:14:41,333 --> 01:14:42,250
Could...
660
01:14:42,625 --> 01:14:47,125
because up until now VW has only purchased
four of these wind turbines for its factory.
661
01:14:59,458 --> 01:15:03,083
In 2011 we had
the great opportunity of setting up
662
01:15:03,208 --> 01:15:07,250
a larger wind park with up to
nine wind turbines on this field.
663
01:15:07,375 --> 01:15:10,500
A real, genuine 100% citizens' wind park.
664
01:15:11,000 --> 01:15:15,583
This would have made us far more than
100% self-sufficient on balance.
665
01:15:15,792 --> 01:15:20,792
And we could have directly and immediately
supported kindergartens and schools etc.
666
01:15:20,917 --> 01:15:27,167
Unfortunately the population rejected the plan and
in one village we missed the target by 7 votes.
667
01:15:27,333 --> 01:15:28,792
That was a real shock.
668
01:15:28,917 --> 01:15:34,500
Because I absolutely couldn't understand how people
could actually reject something as clean as wind power.
669
01:15:40,875 --> 01:15:42,833
We had some very strong supporters.
670
01:15:42,958 --> 01:15:47,625
But there's always the danger...
we've experienced this, a handful of people
671
01:15:47,875 --> 01:15:51,417
who distributed flyers with the craziest claims.
672
01:15:52,083 --> 01:15:56,750
They went as far as going to school,
intercepting the kids and telling them
673
01:15:56,917 --> 01:16:01,625
to say goodbye to their parents if they voted
for wind power, as they'd get cancer.
674
01:16:01,750 --> 01:16:06,208
What do people have in their heads?
Now they come and say, oh God,
675
01:16:06,333 --> 01:16:08,875
let's say: moving shadows. Infrared.
676
01:16:09,042 --> 01:16:12,667
Monster turbines. Ice debris.
Annoying flashes. Disco effect.
677
01:16:12,875 --> 01:16:14,625
We just wanted to make money.
678
01:16:14,792 --> 01:16:20,333
We shouldn't just think about which arguments
to discredit. We must be far more proactive.
679
01:16:20,542 --> 01:16:24,750
We want to create a multifacetted
regional energy transition here.
680
01:16:24,875 --> 01:16:27,792
And wind power is just one of our building blocks.
681
01:16:27,958 --> 01:16:31,167
I think we have to take all positions seriously.
682
01:16:31,333 --> 01:16:34,583
OK, we hear them sometimes, we see them too.
683
01:16:34,708 --> 01:16:37,750
But it's worth it to us for the sake of our future.
684
01:16:37,875 --> 01:16:43,917
I mean, we'll never be able to make
them invisible and perfectly silent.
685
01:16:44,042 --> 01:16:46,458
You can't generate energy invisibly.
686
01:16:46,583 --> 01:16:53,292
We need wind power. The more we wait to make the
energy transition, the more climate change will progress.
687
01:16:53,500 --> 01:16:57,250
And then? Who'll shoulder the costs?
Younger generations.
688
01:16:57,375 --> 01:17:04,042
This year, 25 million euros of purchasing power
went to external electricity purchases.
689
01:17:04,583 --> 01:17:07,833
If we had a decentralised energy supply,
690
01:17:08,042 --> 01:17:12,000
50% of tax revenue
would return to our regions.
691
01:17:12,208 --> 01:17:17,083
Directly to our communities, to the companies that
work for the common good. And to our citizens.
692
01:17:26,333 --> 01:17:28,792
As for the environmental consequences...
693
01:17:28,917 --> 01:17:35,167
With brown coal, whole swathes of land vanish for ever.
With their cemeteries, their churches, everything.
694
01:17:35,292 --> 01:17:38,167
This simply isn't necessary. It's also not modern.
695
01:17:38,292 --> 01:17:40,000
It's completely archaic.
696
01:17:40,125 --> 01:17:45,167
Because renewable energy is market-ready.
We don't need conventional energy anymore.
697
01:17:45,292 --> 01:17:48,417
What we're doing right now, what policies encourage, is:
698
01:17:48,542 --> 01:17:50,750
running a renewable energy system
699
01:17:50,875 --> 01:17:57,292
in parallel with a conventional energy system
that must be maintained at all costs.
700
01:17:57,417 --> 01:17:59,833
And we need to move away from that.
701
01:18:08,250 --> 01:18:12,958
In autumn I paid a visit to my first
industrial client, Mr. Hans-Georg Hof.
702
01:18:13,792 --> 01:18:19,042
He heats around 6,000 square metres of
production halls using straw pellets exclusively.
703
01:18:20,667 --> 01:18:24,708
- You didn't use gas heating at all?
- No! We didn't use gas heating.
704
01:18:24,833 --> 01:18:29,917
Our consumption last winter was around
60 tonnes of straw pellets.
705
01:18:30,042 --> 01:18:34,917
And these 60 tonnes are replacing
27,000 litres of fuel oil.
706
01:18:35,667 --> 01:18:40,375
This means that if, in terms of cost,
we estimate an average fuel oil price,
707
01:18:40,542 --> 01:18:42,583
we're effectively saving 50%.
708
01:18:44,167 --> 01:18:49,333
For me it was important, with the whole
basic idea of doing something like this,
709
01:18:49,458 --> 01:18:53,042
it was very important that
you only exploit waste material,
710
01:18:53,250 --> 01:18:57,500
which isn't taking away any
valuable surfaces from the food chain.
711
01:18:58,792 --> 01:19:03,833
Even the ash can be used up again
as potash fertiliser on the fields.
712
01:19:04,000 --> 01:19:06,375
And I find that very, very positive.
713
01:19:23,583 --> 01:19:26,500
It works. The fuel technology works too.
714
01:19:27,375 --> 01:19:32,167
And now we can start to say goodbye to gas and oil.
715
01:19:37,292 --> 01:19:42,000
The extraction of fossil fuels is becoming
ever dirtier and more dangerous.
716
01:19:47,667 --> 01:19:51,625
When natural gas is extracted by fracking,
methane is released.
717
01:19:53,625 --> 01:19:57,583
Methane is at least 20 times more damaging
for the climate than CO2.
718
01:20:06,250 --> 01:20:10,625
In Canada, tar sands are being exploited
across a surface as big as England.
719
01:20:16,000 --> 01:20:20,125
Around 500 million litres of water a day
are poisoned in the process.
720
01:20:28,208 --> 01:20:30,417
And that's the fire burning inside of me.
721
01:20:30,750 --> 01:20:36,625
And I'm doing this within the framework of options
that I have. I have limited options.
722
01:20:37,208 --> 01:20:41,083
But I'm doing this. And I've always done this.
For 40 years.
723
01:20:41,292 --> 01:20:43,750
Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off.
724
01:20:43,875 --> 01:20:51,792
For over 40 years, people all over the world
have been combating nuclear power.
725
01:21:01,333 --> 01:21:07,292
On 11/03/2011, an accident destroyed a large part
of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
726
01:21:09,250 --> 01:21:12,833
Countless millions of tonnes of waste and earth
have been contaminated by radiation.
727
01:21:15,375 --> 01:21:17,958
They are being stored in plastic sacks.
728
01:21:23,208 --> 01:21:26,833
Every day, 600,000 litres of water are contaminated.
729
01:21:27,708 --> 01:21:30,125
They are being provisionally poured into tanks.
730
01:21:35,667 --> 01:21:40,000
In England, there are plans to build
a new nuclear power plant, Hinkley Point C.
731
01:21:40,917 --> 01:21:44,625
The state is acting as surety for the construction
to the tune of 22 billion euros.
732
01:21:49,125 --> 01:21:56,042
Austria and the green energy providers
Greenpeace Energy and EWS Schönau
733
01:21:56,208 --> 01:21:59,417
are suing against the public grants.
734
01:22:01,042 --> 01:22:04,083
Over 180,000 citizens are filing complaints.
735
01:22:09,542 --> 01:22:14,125
In October 2014, the subsidies
were approved by the EU.
736
01:22:14,292 --> 01:22:17,042
It stinks to high heaven that this was approved,
737
01:22:17,167 --> 01:22:23,333
and I don't understand why the new EU Commission
isn't keeping its distance.
738
01:22:23,458 --> 01:22:28,375
The problem is rather that we're maybe
not bold enough in some areas,
739
01:22:28,500 --> 01:22:32,000
meaning that the EU does in fact set itself targets -
740
01:22:32,125 --> 01:22:36,500
where it wants environmental protection
and energy transition to be by 2030 -
741
01:22:36,625 --> 01:22:42,208
but it daren't break down these targets bindingly
at the level of national member states,
742
01:22:42,333 --> 01:22:47,167
saying OK, you have to do this by then,
or we'll be talking about sanctions.
743
01:22:47,333 --> 01:22:52,375
I think we need both, a bold population
and a bold government.
744
01:22:53,458 --> 01:22:56,125
I always get so angry when I read that...
745
01:23:00,375 --> 01:23:06,167
The English have a total of nine nuclear power plants,
which are all around 30 years old.
746
01:23:06,958 --> 01:23:10,083
And now they have the unique opportunity
747
01:23:10,917 --> 01:23:16,583
to make a new investment into renewables, instead
of depending on nuclear power for 60 more years.
748
01:23:16,708 --> 01:23:19,167
Tying themselves to nuclear again.
749
01:23:19,292 --> 01:23:22,792
It's really terrible, what's happening in Fukushima now.
750
01:23:22,917 --> 01:23:28,542
Radioactive water is still flowing into the ocean,
people there are overwhelmed by the situation,
751
01:23:28,667 --> 01:23:31,833
no one knows how to isolate the reactor core.
752
01:23:31,958 --> 01:23:36,208
There is no solution to what to do
with all the contaminated soil.
753
01:23:36,417 --> 01:23:40,625
Over 120,000 people still haven't
been able to return to their homes.
754
01:23:40,750 --> 01:23:44,833
And that shows the scale of this catastrophe.
755
01:23:45,667 --> 01:23:49,500
And Japan has demonstrated,
just after the Fukushima meltdown,
756
01:23:49,625 --> 01:23:53,833
how quickly you can reduce your
energy consumption from one day to the next.
757
01:26:19,042 --> 01:26:24,167
In order to make the world more just,
in order to make the world more peaceful,
758
01:26:24,292 --> 01:26:29,583
in order to combat hunger, in order to put an end
to all the social inequality,
759
01:26:29,833 --> 01:26:35,250
we must do more. We're responsible for
what we do, but also for what we don't do.
760
01:26:37,542 --> 01:26:44,083
The pioneers of the energy transition were viewed
by many as crackpots, as tinkerers.
761
01:26:44,292 --> 01:26:48,042
And that's how I see Edy Kraus,
he believed in things
762
01:26:48,167 --> 01:26:52,333
I couldn't imagine it would be possible to realise.
763
01:26:52,458 --> 01:26:55,250
But in hindsight,
I must say he was miles ahead.
764
01:26:55,375 --> 01:26:58,375
I think we need these
people to open up new paths,
765
01:26:58,500 --> 01:27:01,583
and at the end of the day they are
the trailblazers of the energy transition.
766
01:27:04,458 --> 01:27:09,375
The Tautenhain site is a special case for me personally.
767
01:27:10,250 --> 01:27:13,625
Because I know that this site was used to store missiles
768
01:27:14,292 --> 01:27:17,625
loaded with nuclear explosives.
769
01:27:18,208 --> 01:27:20,542
I know that, from this site,
770
01:27:21,417 --> 01:27:24,833
Russian missiles were sold to Iraq,
771
01:27:25,375 --> 01:27:27,917
during the time of the Iran-Iraq War.
772
01:27:29,167 --> 01:27:31,333
And 25 years later,
773
01:27:32,583 --> 01:27:33,875
I'm standing here
774
01:27:34,708 --> 01:27:38,875
and making the opening speech
for this park in the missile hall,
775
01:27:39,833 --> 01:27:42,458
where these missiles used to be stored.
776
01:27:43,042 --> 01:27:46,500
And much more than that:
my team and I have succeeded
777
01:27:47,542 --> 01:27:53,833
in converting this site, which had ended up in ruins
and was an encumbrance for everyone around it,
778
01:27:53,958 --> 01:27:58,000
into a solar power plant, introducing
some peace and quiet here.
779
01:27:58,125 --> 01:28:02,292
And that's not all: we're producing
electricity for 10,000 people.
780
01:28:09,542 --> 01:28:15,667
I often had people arguing against me, saying
that this solar project is just a drop in the ocean.
781
01:28:15,792 --> 01:28:20,208
And that you could just give up on it
and still keep a clean conscience.
782
01:28:20,708 --> 01:28:27,167
And I think that was the really important realisation:
no, we can't give up on one single project.
783
01:28:27,292 --> 01:28:32,250
It's the sum of all projects that will make
the change, create the energy transition
784
01:28:32,375 --> 01:28:36,417
or achieve the goal of 100% supply
from renewable energies.
785
01:28:37,042 --> 01:28:41,083
And that's how I think we should view this process.
Every one of us
786
01:28:41,208 --> 01:28:47,000
can make a small contribution that doesn't have
a huge effect if you look at it in isolation.
73856
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