Archived article from March 14, 2016
The German Energy Transition
Case Study
With evidence that excessive use of non-renewable fossil fuels has led to the steady depletion of available resources and highly negative effects on the environment, we have arrived at a point where there is no acceptable alternative other than a global energy revolution. While energy policy debates continue worldwide, many countries and communities are taking matters into their own hands by developing and implementing renewable approaches such as solar or wind energy in an effort to ensure low-carbon future.
As one of the leading countries in renewable energy, Germany receives both positive and negative coverage on the topic. In 2011, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, an international think tank for policy reform, and a catalyst for green visions and projects, set out to develop a website clearing up any misleading information surrounding Germany’s energy transition or Energiewende. By providing facts on the politics and policies of the initiative, the (at the time) proposed website would explain the Energiewende, how it works, and what challenges lay ahead for Germany and the world.
Like many of our clients, the Heinrich Böll Foundation initially approached us with dense and rather complicated comprehensive study. The goal was to make the information found within the study available on the website without sacrificing important content. Our solution to this challenge was to create a user-friendly experience by dividing seven chapters into individual layers of relevance.
The main components of Energytransition.de work by first revealing the central idea of a topic by clicking on a chapter headline. The user then has the option of selecting a sub-topic, expanding upon the original area of interest, or simply clicking on the next headline. For those solely interested in a summary of the initiative, in fewer than ten points, the Key Findings section further sums up the importance of the German Energiewende. Other highlights of the website include: a glossary of key terms, a selection of over forty downloadable graphics, a yearly updated e-manual and most recently, the addition of a blog written and edited by a team of energy and environmental experts.
Available in nine languages, the website is continually updated and maintained. All changes made to the site are edited annually in the digital e-publication through a workflow tool developed by Lucid. Here the new English text is uploaded and compared side-by-side with all other languages. Each language editor can makes changes to their respective texts simultaneously with other editors and designers, creating a simplified and efficient working process.
Energytranstion.de was created to inform the general-interest user of the basic ideas behind the German energy transition, while providing official content and data to policymakers, politicians and the like. As the central platform for highlighting the effects of the Energiewende on the German economy, environment, and society, the website provides the much-needed tools for ensuring a greener tomorrow.
