The words of Mahatma Gandhi - "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win"- are a fitting introduction to Herman Scheer's latest book named "Der Energethische Imperativ" (subtitled 100% Now: How the Complete Switch to Renewable Energies Can Be Realised) It sums up his passionate conviction that it was technically and economically feasible for renewable energy to fully replace fossil and nuclear energy within just a few years, if the political will existed. He saw political intransigence as the biggest barrier to achieving this.
Herman Scheer was a true architect of the renewable-energy age, he lived as he preached, powering his home with a windmill.
Herman Scheer was a true architect of the renewable-energy age, he lived as he preached, powering his home with a windmill.
The sad demise of Herman Scheer last week is a great loss to the people who are passionate about renewable and solar energy.
He never withered under the criticism that his ideas were utopian, and for the past decade was able to enjoy the fact that his views were being taken seriously. Nicknamed the "solar king", the "sun god" and the "solar pope", or - for those who were not complimentary about his environmental goals - the "Stalin of renewables", in 2000 Scheer succeeded in introducing the feed-in tariff, otherwise known as Scheer's law, by which individuals and businesses that generate power through renewable energies are able to sell it back to the grid at above-market prices, thus encouraging the spread of wind, solar and hydro power. The system has been adopted around the world and has contributed to the respect now given to renewable energy, not least because it has encouraged individual participation. A man of considerable energy himself, and also of great impatience, Scheer founded the International Renewable Energy Agency and was president of Eurosolar, the European Association for Renewable Energy.Scheer was never afraid of voicing his views. He often clashed with fellow party members, particularly the erstwhile SPD party leader and former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder, over his decision in the late 90s to back Nato's intervention in Kosovo, which he called a "war crime", to which Schroder responded that he no longer belonged in his party. But his position in the Baden-Wurttemberg SPD was so solid that his future there was never called into question.
Scheer was known internationally for his pro-environmental politics. He was a supporter of renewable energy and wrote many books and articles outlying his ideas. Two in particular, "A Solar Manifesto" and "Solar Economy," are considered leading publications on renewable energy.
Supporting renewable energy earned Scheer many international awards over the years, including the alternative Nobel prize, the Right Livelihood Award, in 1999. Herman Scheer will be remembered for ever due to his contributions to the renewable energy world.
He never withered under the criticism that his ideas were utopian, and for the past decade was able to enjoy the fact that his views were being taken seriously. Nicknamed the "solar king", the "sun god" and the "solar pope", or - for those who were not complimentary about his environmental goals - the "Stalin of renewables", in 2000 Scheer succeeded in introducing the feed-in tariff, otherwise known as Scheer's law, by which individuals and businesses that generate power through renewable energies are able to sell it back to the grid at above-market prices, thus encouraging the spread of wind, solar and hydro power. The system has been adopted around the world and has contributed to the respect now given to renewable energy, not least because it has encouraged individual participation. A man of considerable energy himself, and also of great impatience, Scheer founded the International Renewable Energy Agency and was president of Eurosolar, the European Association for Renewable Energy.Scheer was never afraid of voicing his views. He often clashed with fellow party members, particularly the erstwhile SPD party leader and former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder, over his decision in the late 90s to back Nato's intervention in Kosovo, which he called a "war crime", to which Schroder responded that he no longer belonged in his party. But his position in the Baden-Wurttemberg SPD was so solid that his future there was never called into question.
Scheer was known internationally for his pro-environmental politics. He was a supporter of renewable energy and wrote many books and articles outlying his ideas. Two in particular, "A Solar Manifesto" and "Solar Economy," are considered leading publications on renewable energy.
Supporting renewable energy earned Scheer many international awards over the years, including the alternative Nobel prize, the Right Livelihood Award, in 1999. Herman Scheer will be remembered for ever due to his contributions to the renewable energy world.
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I really liked your article.
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