A city can work with 100% renewable energy?
Image copyright Getty Images Image Caption There is a strong anti-coal movement in Germany.
Germany is a thought leader in the global fight to reduce CO2 emissions, a pioneer in the projects of renewable and community energy and a champion of energy efficiency.
But try telling that Monika Schulz-Hopfner She and her husband and 250 other residents of Atterwasch, a quiet village near the Polish border, deportation front of their house 30 years to make way for a coal mine Jänschwalde -North.
And not just any old coal but lignite, the dirtiest form of this ancient fossil fuel is mined in large open pits.
If the plans go ahead, the village, parts of which date back more than 700 years, will be demolished.
Since the mine plans were unveiled in 2007, we lived with the constant threat that took the life of every individual and the whole community, said Ms Schulz-Hopfner.
In the German region of Lausitz, nine villages are threatened, where up to 3,000 people could lose their homes to make way for five new lignite mines fueling the renewed thirst of the country for coal mines Two more are under consideration .
Mines are needed to power a new generation of coal power plants.
Two new lignite plants were opened in 2012, with two more in the pipeline Two other coal plants have also opened last year, with a further opening of five this year or next, with two awaiting licenses.
The effects are already being felt Lignite production in 2012 reached its highest level in nearly 20 years, while initial estimates suggest that brown coal was used to generate 162bn kWh of electricity last year, more than any year since 1990. The use of coal also increased, which means the two energy sources accounted for 46 of the total energy production in Germany.
The impact on CO2 emissions were immediate There was an increase of between 5 -7 CO2 over the past two years, says Professor Claudia Kemfert, head of energy at the German Institute for Economic Research .
And this in a country that aims to reduce emissions by 40 from 1990 levels by 2020.
As Professor Christian Hey, Secretary General of the German Advisory Council on the Environment, said Germany has a coal problem.
One is the low-cost carbon Because of the failure of the system of exchange of emission quotas, the price of CO2 permits is very low, says Professor Hey The EU has not managed to solve this problem.
Image copyright Christof Koepsel Image Caption The cast lignite mines in Germany covering tens of square kilometers.
And lower excess supply of energy demand - and therefore allows - during the economic recession, the price is now at about three euros per tonne of CO2 if all went to plan, the price would be more than 10 times now.
Overcapacity also pushed prices lower carbon, while the lignite industry has benefited to the tune of 60 million euros to be exempt from support for the renewable energy industry, says Professor Hey.
This means that the fossil fuel is moved downwardly so-called curve of the order of merit that has been introduced in Germany in the 1990s, and determines the order in which the energy sources are used to meet demand the cheapest source is used first, the second lowest second, and soon.
Over time, the peat is converted into lignite, then, because of the heat, pressure and chemical changes over millions of years, converted into coal.
The lignite energy intensity is the lowest of all forms of coal, making it less effective.
Because it is less dense, lignite burns much faster than coal.
Lignite is mined in open pits that cover a much larger area than deep mines used to extract coal.
Lignite contains less carbon but more sulfur than the hard coal.
Renewable energy is currently the cheapest, followed by nuclear Lignite comes next, followed by coal and the government decided to phase out nuclear energy by 2022, lignite moves further along the curve.
Until the price of carbon increases, then, lignite should remain at the heart of German energy production.
This is one of the biggest contradictions of the energy transition, and if the government wanted to address it, it could, the professor said Hey.
To resolve this paradox, the government must adopt a regulatory approach on coal It is based on the market, rather than regulation, which is the key problem.
Or, as Professor Kemfert puts the government is not doing anything.
In fact, said the new coalition that all energy sources of fossil fuels are just as important for security of supply in the foreseeable future.
But despite the government's inaction, there is reason to believe that the growing use of lignite can not last.
All new coal plants built in recent years and those that are due to open this year and next, received the green light there about 10 years, when energy prices were much higher Some now argue that these massive investments are simply not viable in the current economic climate.
Image copyright Carsten Koall Image Caption Campaigners want to stop new coal mines and the expansion of older mines.
Mariana Heinrich at Poyry Management Council said, these plants represent the end of an economic cycle and not a long-term trend.
More importantly perhaps, there is no appetite or public policy for the construction of new coal plants over the next 30-40 years, says Lars Waldmann, senior partner at Agora Energiewende think tank.
He said that lignite is not necessary to fill the void that will be left by phasing out nuclear power, a decision taken in 2000.
We hope and believe that the gas to fill the gap, because there is enough installed capacity, said Waldmann This capacity is dormant right now because of cheap coal prices, and rising gas prices .
Image copyright ideengrün Markus Pichlmaier Image Caption Ms Schulz-Hopfner wants to see more renewable energy, not lignite.
On the economic side, renewables and gas may be the best way to cover all the demand.
Ms Schulz-Hopfner take little comfort in this.
It's silly We do not charge need more lignite, because we use more renewable energy, she said that if we Germans really want the Energiewende energy transition, then no more villages should be demolished.
But the new generation of coal means that fossil fuel will remain a key component of the energy mix in Germany.
The fact that the lignite will still be cheap to produce, combined with a powerful pro-coal lobby in German politics, meaning the temptation to rely on this dirty fuel will remain strong as the carbon price remains low.
For a country that in many ways, is a clean energy leader in, let alone committed to radical cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, this contradiction seems strange to say the least.
This article is part of a series of features on the future of energy The next published Monday, April 14, will focus on the attempts of cleaner coal mine.
German coal industry underpins BBC News renewables push, German coal industry, renewable.