On the evening of 21 August 2011, the Ecologic Institute hosted a Dinner Dialogue at the Hackerhaus in Munich with MdL Christine Kamm of the German Green Party. Christine Kamm represents the city of Augsburg and is the speaker for the Party in the Region of Schwabia (Augsburg/Schwaben).

The Dinner Dialogue with Christine. Kamm began the first I-CITE study tour, Renewables and Rural Energy Opportunities [link], which explored the growing role of bioenergy and renewables in Germany and Austria. Christine Kamm spoke with the 20 American and European participants about the emergence of German Renewable Energy laws, as well as Germany’s feed-in tariff (FiT) mechanism for supporting them and the FiT’s effects on renewable energy production in Germany over time.

Piper Foster, former Transatlantic Fellow at Ecologic Institute, moderated the discussion. Following Christine Kamm’s remarks, Piper Foster facilitated an hour-long discussion between the participants and Christine Kamm. The participants were especially interested in:

• the development of the feed-in tariff over time;
• how the current system in Germany might be transferrable to other contexts; and
• the possibilities of expanding renewable energy production in Germany and throughout Europe.

These themes framed the week that the participants spent touring Bavaria and Upper Austria.

Further Links:

• Ecologic Institute Project: I-CITE: Transforming Economies through Community
• Dinner Dialogue: Possibility of and Opportunities from the Implementation of an Energy System Powered only by Renewable Energy - Hans-Josef Fell
• First I-CITE Study Tour: Renewables and Rural Energy Opportunities
• Christine Kamm's web site [German]