Germany’s shift from large-scale, centralized power generation to a decentralized system geared towards the large-scale integration of renewable energy has been under way for many years now. Utilities like SWW have been adapting their business models to the increasing infeed of wind and solar power since the late 1990s. This development was accelerated in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, when the government decided to phase out all nuclear plants by the end of 2022.
The EU’s internal energy market director as well as the Polish minister of the environment and his Japanese colleague are among the distinguished visitors to have signed the guestbook, and many more groups come almost daily to witness the future of what some have termed Germany’s energy turnaround. “I don’t really like that term,” Krasser admits. “We aren’t turning anything around at all, and we certainly aren’t turning back. We’re making a transition to a better future.”
