Can a rural farming community of 2,600 people really produce a 320 percent annual power surplus from renewable energy? Sound a little farfetched? Well, it’s true. According to “Germany’s Plus-Energy Town” by Richard Defendorf, the city of Wildpoldsried used a “not-so-secret formula” that includes “a blend of economic caretaking, government incentives, and renewable-energy adoption.”

Many small communities jumped on the renewable energy bandwagon after Germany introduced feed-in tariffs in 2000, allowing residents to sell the surplus renewable energy they produce back to the utility. Looking even further ahead, Wildpoldsried has been chosen to participate in a two-year smart-grid study that will investigate the best ways renewable resources can meet the future energy demands of electric vehicles.

Let’s learn from the forward-thinking nature of our German friends. We have the passion and ingenuity to do the same in the United States.

Photo: greenbuildingadvisor.com

Can a rural farming community of 2,600 people really produce a 320 percent annual power surplus from renewable energy?