Republicans have pessimistically said it can t be done, that renewable energy can t do for us what oil, gas, and coal have done for generations.But Germany just put Republicans in their place and proved that clean energy can do just that if given the chance.On Sunday, Chancellor Angela Merkel had good reason to celebrate as renewable energy sources provided nearly 100 percent of the nation s energy needs for the first time.According to Bloomberg:Solar and wind power peaked at 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, allowing renewables to supply 45.5 gigawatts as demand was 45.8 gigawatts, according to provisional data by Agora Energiewende, a research institute in Berlin. Power prices turned negative during several 15-minute periods yesterday, dropping as low as minus 50 euros ($57) a megawatt-hour In other words, clean energy saved people lots of money on their electricity bills on several occasions on Sunday and proved that it is possible to replace conventional energy sources with renewable energy sources.If you take a look at the graph below, you will see that solar power, as represented in yellow, surged to hit the red line, which represents the electricity consumption of the population. For that one shining brief period, clean energy surpassed the conventional sources and embarrassed every single Republican who has scoffed at the prospect of clean energy in the United States.Just imagine if clean energy did this here. Imagine if we actually put our full effort and focus into developing a clean energy infrastructure, we could watch as our electric bills shrink and our dependence on fossil fuels disappears. It would save us money and help save the planet at the same time.But that s assuming Republicans jump on board the clean energy train instead of continuing to be shills for oil and coal companies while claiming that God will save the planet.Featured image via Wikimedia