Under the circumstances of increasingly visible climate change, most notably in the phenomenon of global warming, it has become more and more clear that the energy industry based on the exploitation of fossil fuels has significantly contributed to this development. Therefore, many countries acknowledge the need for a policy paradigm shift in the field of energy policy, which implies an increased relying on renewable energy sources and the improvement of energy efficiency. The author conducts a case study of Germany – a forerunner in European efforts to link the energy industry based on renewable sources and environmental protection, and also on maintaining the security of energy supply. The paper tests whether this orientation of Germany is based on its policy capacity – “the ability to marshal the necessary resources to make intelligent collective choices about and set strategic directions for the allocation of scarce resources to public ends” (Painter i Pierre, 2005: 2), and concludes that it is the internal state determinants, rather than policy diffusion, which have played a central role in Germany’s attainment of a leadership position in the accomplishment of the “new energy paradigm”.