A Faster and Fairer Path to Renewable Energy
How can the energy transition move both fast and fairly in Germany and what does that look like on the ground?
On 17 March 2026, German associations, state energy agencies, and think tanks gathered in Berlin to take on this question, exploring how the Fast and Fair principles can be turned from ambition into practical action, with a focus on the potential development of nationwide guidelines based on insights drawn from existing regional approaches. The event was organised by ICLEI Europe and Transformati.on 2050 in close coordination with the Saxony-Anhalt State Energy Agency and the Thuringian Energy and GreenTech Agency, with the following organisations taking part:
Bundesverband Windenergie (BWE), Bündnis Bürgerenergie (BBEn), Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND), Landkreis Stendal, Bundesverband der Energie- und Klimaschutzagenturen Deutschlands (eaD), Fachagentur Wind- und Solarenergie, WindRat/Protect the Planet, Landesenergieagentur Sachsen-Anhalt, Hansestadt Havelberg, European Youth Energie Network, Deutscher Städte- und Gemeindebund, Öko Institut, Klimaschutz- und Energieagentur Baden-Württemberg, RIFS, Thüringer Energie-und GreenTech Agentur, Transformati.on 2050, ICLEI Europe.
The Fast and Fair principles were collaboratively developed with European energy stakeholders to ameliorate one of the causes of pervasive bottlenecks in renewables rollout: the degree of fairness in implementation, striving to ultimately enable the expansion of renewable energy. Now, the initiative is looking into ways that these Europe-wide principles can be translated to specific regions - in this case, Germany.
Conversations during the event in Berlin pointed to the fact that the framework offered by the Fast and Fair principles holds relevance for respective actors in Germany. Successful projects with significant citizen participation, for example, in the town of Havelberg (Germany), indicate that the five cross-stakeholder principles can enhance the credibility of all those involved and strengthen the role of local authorities and mayors in the implementation of projects.
Participants of the event put their heads together to determine how the principles can now be integrated into their work programmes. As the path forward takes shape, the framework of fairness offered by the principles will serve as a guidepost. As Marko Mühlstein, Chairman of the Federal Association of Energy and Climate Protection Agencies in Germany (eaD) said: “Fairness is key to the faster and more widely accepted expansion of renewable energy. The task now is to work together with all stakeholders to drive forward fair implementation in practice.”
Looking ahead, a workshop hosted on 6 May by the city of Nordhausen, will offer local government representatives an opportunity to learn from best practices and effective approaches to engagement and participation. The aim will be to demonstrate how these principles, set out in a checklist, can serve as a basis for swift and fair local projects.
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