17. Value added at home

Germany's regions benefit from the promotion of renewable energies. Instead of having to pay energy bills for Russian natural gas corporations or Arab oil sheiks, energy spending remains at home. Especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the respective regions provide for the construction, operation and maintenance of renewable energy systems. Municipalities receive revenue from income and business taxes as well as from leasing municipal land. By means of the re-investment of such funds in education, culture and local infrastructure, all citizens benefit from these revenues. The value creation effects of renewable energies can be determined with the help of the online value calculator of the Agency for Renewable Energies (AEE).

Furthermore, the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) has calculated the influence of the development of renewable energies on jobs, corporate profits and tax revenues, especially at the municipal level. According to an IÖW study on behalf of Greenpeace Germany:  renewable energies added more than 11 billion Euros in 2012 at the local level, which represents approximately two-thirds of the total added value generated by renewables in that year. This goes to show: Renewable energy is becoming an ever more important economic factor for the communities.