“From oatgrass to photovoltaics”

Human transformation of the landscape to generate energy has been a constant feature in Germany for centuries, but today this activity seems to enrage more people than it used to, Matthias Köpf writes in Süddeutsche Zeitung. While many people nowadays lament that corn crops used for biogas plants have become too dominant and spoil the countryside, “corn takes up much less space than oatgrass back in the day, which 100 years ago was one of the most important energy sources”. Oatgrass was needed to feed horses, which fulfilled the same purpose as today’s machines, Köpf argues. What used to be oatgrass fields have by now become corn plantations and photovoltaics installations, he says, adding that “energy generation is an issue that has always concerned humans”.

Read the article in German here.

Get background in the CLEW factsheet Bioenergy’s public acceptance problem and Fighting windmills: when growth hits resistance.