germany based its tariffs upon a fraction of the retail rate that is to say the price at which electricity was sold to consumers not the wholesale rate that is to say the cost at which utilities purchased electricity from other generators in germany consumption taxes constitute a large fraction of the ultimate retail price of electricity wind energy and solar energy were paid per cent of the retail rate and hydroelectric plants were paid per cent of the retail rate this was corrected in germany in by the stipulation that renewable sources of electricity would have priority access to the grid for a host of environmental social and economic reasons