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I keep seeing news articles about how much rural Germany supposedly hates clean energy. I mean, look at this. Even the Chancellor has been hating on wind turbines. It seems like a lot of people are saying "Nice idea. But not in my backyard." And then I stumbled on this little village outside Berlin, which is going the opposite way. Not only did Feldheim go fully renewable, but it also has its own separate power grid. The locals don't fight it. They support it.
We went there to see how Feldheim pulled off its green transition - and why its residents are on board. At first glance, Feldheim pretty much looks like a street. surrounded by a lot of fields. Okay, the name is starting to make sense. "Maybe the place got its name for exactly that reason - because the wind can whistle along the field." This is Michael Raschemann. He was the one who got the ball rolling by building four wind turbines here about 30 years ago.
Over time, that slowly grew into this giant wind farm. There's also this biogas plant that uses organic waste to produce clean electricity and heating. When it gets too cold, this wood-fired heating system jumps in. Then there's a solar plant and this big battery. All of this infrastructure produces hundreds of millions of kilowatt hours of electricity every year. More than enough to supply Feldheim's tiny population with clean energy. Less than 1% of the renewable energy produced in Feldheim is actually used here.
Power from the wind farm goes straight to the residents through an independent grid, which means it's very cheap. People here only pay 12 cents per kilowatt hour. For reference, I pay nearly three times as much in Berlin. Taking all fees into account, my monthly bill of €50 would come out to €15 if I lived in Feldheim. And that cheap local power is the reason why residents are such big fans of the huge wind farm in their backyard. "It's incredibly important to use this one small fraction of energy - about one million kilowatt-hours - locally, in order to gain acceptance to feed the remaining 99.5% into the grid." But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Back to the 90s - when this same guy brought the first turbines to Feldheim. Michael Raschemann was still an engineering student back then. It was so momentous that local TV even covered it. He saw potential here. The village's vast fields were pretty high up for this flat part of Germany - great wind conditions. And there was already a power line close by. It was also a rural area in former East Germany struggling to find its place in a newly reunified country. "Everything was dismantled - jobs disappeared, people had to commute farther and farther, and nothing was happening. And then a student came along
and said he wanted to build four wind turbines here." People were curious. And chatty. "They have a lot to say to each other. You can tell them some information, and it will spread relatively quickly. An intense dialogue started. I like to picture it like one of those townhall meetings on Gilmore Girls. Raschemann talked to the local government, residents and the farmers cooperative, which administers a lot of this land. Together, they agreed where these wind turbines could be built without bothering anyone. For example, by placing them far enough away
so they don't cast a shadow on the houses. That was phase one: lots of talking. And as Raschemann and his wife founded the company Energiequelle that slowly expanded the wind farm, the talking continued. "This was a structure that grew slowly over time. More turbines were added, but the residents were always kept informed and involved." This is Sebastian Herbst. He's a Feldheimer and the head of the agricultural co-op, a group of farmers who share land and equipment to make farming easier and more profitable. And this co-op is also in the clean energy game. Because, right around the time
the wind farm was growing in the early 2000s, farmers were in a tough spot Their income was unstable, partly because the EU lowered minimum prices for a lot of their products. And the oil they used to keep the facility for these babes warm was expensive. So they thought: Let's diversify. They joined forces with Energiequelle to build this plant. It uses manure from livestock, crushed grain and corn to produce biogas. "Let's do a quality check. If you look at the corn, you'll see corn kernels. Of course the more kernels you have, the more energy there is."
"How did that look?" "That looked good. The last two years, the corn yield was actually quite good." The plant captures potent methane that would have otherwise escaped into the air and turns it into a more climate-friendly fuel for electricity and heating. "That allowed us to secure our workforce and offer new jobs. Which is very important. At the moment, milk prices are low, pork prices are low, so the mood in agriculture is really bad. And you're actually glad when you have something like a biogas plant." But there is one final step that Raschemann believes really sealed the deal for locals: saying goodbye to big energy and lowering the prices. Before 2010, all of Feldheim's green energy flowed into the public grid.
Residents had to buy it back from the power supplier - paying grid fees and surcharges on the electricity produced in their village. The local renewables company Energiequelle tried to avoid these extra charges by purchasing the local section of the power grid. But that did not fly. "The answer was rather blunt, but understandable: the family silver is not for sale." So, Energiequelle cooperated with the local government to build an independent electricity grid in 2010. As in, they built their own power lines and all.
But the locals wanted more. They also wanted access to renewable heating from here. That's why they joined forces with the municipality, businesses and farms to build their own heating network. Each household invested €3,000 into this energy transition. And there was some money from the state and the EU as well. "This was a good, cheap solution for everyone." This move made Feldheim one of a kind in Germany. To the point that it attracts visitors from around the world. Today, there are more than 180 bioenergy villages across Germany.
They get most of their power and heating from clean sources, mostly biomass. Some of them are close to 100% renewable. But what makes Feldheim unique is that, unlike the others, it's completely off-grid. The village runs its own heating and electricity network independently. And that really paid off in 2022. When Russia's war on Ukraine plunged Germany into an energy crisis, Feldheim continued to enjoy steady electricity and heating - and it was affordable. At the peak of the crisis, Germans paid an average of 45 cents per kilowatt hour. Feldheim stayed down here. "I think it's really important that people actually notice: Oh, look, electricity is cheaper because those things are standing so close to me."
Not only did long-time Feldheim residents accept clean energy in their backyard - more people are moving there because of it. Like this guy, Jens Neumann. "Hello!" "Hi, I'm Beatrice." "Hi, I'm Jens." "Welcome to Feldheim." "Thank you." He and dozens of newcomers have been living in this house that opened in 2024. And he's wasted no time, and got Feldheim written on his ID - even though it's now technically just a district of a different town. "So people know, if they ever check me: Not only does he live in Treuenbrietzen, but in the energy independent village of Feldheim. And here, it's written down."
"A proud Feldheimer." "Absolutely, absolutely." As for the wind turbines: He can barely see them from his backyard. or, uh, porch. "Keep building more of that. If my electricity bill stays this way with these hobbies that I have - do your thing! It's okay." Because those hobbies he's talking about: They're very energy intensive. And have racked up quite a bill in the past. "I was once told that I use enough electricity for two people. In my old apartment, I used about 2,400 kilowatt-hours a year.
All this technology needs a lot of electricity." "So you must be excited about the prices in Feldheim?" "Yes, I'm pretty relaxed about all of this now because my costs have been cut by more than half." But as popular as this approach is in Feldheim, it can't work everywhere. There are specific circumstances that made it thrive here. It's a tiny district with a very curious, tightly knit community. It doesn't take much to organize people here, and the power lines from the wind farm to the homes can be very short. The farmers co-op is also deeply rooted in the community and has a lot of influence.
Similar conditions exist in the Isle of Eigg in Scotland or the US' Kodiak Island in Alaska, which also run their own microgrids on renewables. But for larger towns or communities that lack the natural advantages that these places have, trying to do the same thing would be much harder. That doesn't take away from the fact that planners did a lot of things right in Feldheim. Studies show that communicating effectively - from the beginning - makes a huge difference. And that locals need to see that it's making them some money - or at least helping them to save it.
Germany does do that in many places. There is a law that allows operators of renewables to pay municipalities affected by the project. But there is no obligation for developers to share the profits - these are voluntary payments. That uncertainty can fuel resistance. And it comes at a moment when many are questioning the government's commitment to a renewable rollout. Feldheim can feel this trend. For example, when it comes to subsidies for its biogas plant. "Feldheim is realizing right now that we're a bit worried about the future.
Our subsidies are expiring. The government is offering a new program, but the money is not enough." So, even in Feldheim, the work is never done. Plants need money to stay profitable. A new generation of more powerful turbines needs to be installed. "And once again, it's important to take Feldheimers along - to understand this change and to be willing to accept it." This unassuming place knows how to do that. By communicating, creating job opportunities and providing unbeatable prices.
It may not be a formula that's easy to implement everywhere. But it allowed Feldheim to achieve its energy transition decades before Germany could even dream of completing its own. "Would an approach like this work where you live? Let us know in the comments and subscribe to our channel.
