If the Germans can do Why not the Americans? 20% Renewable Sources

[Political Junky]

That's because they like living in quarters resembling a WWII Diesel sub running silent.
Except when they're out on the Autobon.

Have you been in Germany?

I have, for several years when I was still in the USAF. I remember many of their houses are multi-family, not a lot of living space per person. And they do have a lot of cooler cloudy weather. Solar power is not a feasible alternative for them until it gets a lot cheaper.

How many years ago was that?

 

[Wiseacre]

Have you been in Germany?

I have, for several years when I was still in the USAF. I remember many of their houses are multi-family, not a lot of living space per person. And they do have a lot of cooler cloudy weather. Solar power is not a feasible alternative for them until it gets a lot cheaper.

How many years ago was that?

About 20. You think it changed that much? I don't think so, they don't have that much space for their population, and the situation has not improved since I was there.

 

[Political Junky]

I have, for several years when I was still in the USAF. I remember many of their houses are multi-family, not a lot of living space per person. And they do have a lot of cooler cloudy weather. Solar power is not a feasible alternative for them until it gets a lot cheaper.

How many years ago was that?

About 20. You think it changed that much? I don't think so, they don't have that much space for their population, and the situation has not improved since I was there.

The German Solar Industry Association (BSW) has announced that German solar power producers have increased electricity output this year by 60 percent over 2010 to 18 billion kWh. This is more than three percent of total power output volumes.

Read more: Germany: Solar power output increases by 60 percent in 2011: pv-magazine

Imagine how well solar would work in the US with all the sunshine in our deserts, plains, and on rooftops in our generally sunnier climate.

 

[Old Rocks]

Consider the amount of roof space on just commercial and industrial roofs in the US. And the grid is already there. We can do far more in the US than we are at present. And the thin film panels are less than $1 a watt when purchased in large quantities. That is about half the cost of dirty coal.

 

[Old Rocks]

That's because they like living in quarters resembling a WWII Diesel sub running silent.
Except when they're out on the Autobon.

Have you been in Germany?

I have, for several years when I was still in the USAF. I remember many of their houses are multi-family, not a lot of living space per person. And they do have a lot of cooler cloudy weather. Solar power is not a feasible alternative for them until it gets a lot cheaper.

There are panels out there that can be had for a $1 a watt. A new technology coming on line that may cut that to one quarter of the present cost. Cost of the panels is rapidly declining. That is the reason for many of the manufacturers using older tech going out of business,

 

[Wiseacre]

Have you been in Germany?

I have, for several years when I was still in the USAF. I remember many of their houses are multi-family, not a lot of living space per person. And they do have a lot of cooler cloudy weather. Solar power is not a feasible alternative for them until it gets a lot cheaper.

There are panels out there that can be had for a $1 a watt. A new technology coming on line that may cut that to one quarter of the present cost. Cost of the panels is rapidly declining. That is the reason for many of the manufacturers using older tech going out of business,

I sincerely hope that the costs associated with solar power and other forms of alternative energy sources become commercially successful without the need for gov't subsidies. However, until then I do not think we have the financial resources to be subsidizing unviable businesses.

 

[flacaltenn]

How many years ago was that?[/B]

About 20. You think it changed that much? I don't think so, they don't have that much space for their population, and the situation has not improved since I was there.

The German Solar Industry Association (BSW) has announced that German solar power producers have increased electricity output this year by 60 percent over 2010 to 18 billion kWh. This is more than three percent of total power output volumes.

Read more: Germany: Solar power output increases by 60 percent in 2011: pv-magazine

Imagine how well solar would work in the US with all the sunshine in our deserts, plains, and on rooftops in our generally sunnier climate.

Solar Subsidy Sinkhole: Re-Evaluating Germany's Blind Faith in the Sun - SPIEGEL ONLINE

The costs of subsidizing solar electricity have exceeded the 100-billion-euro mark in Germany, but poor results are jeopardizing the country's transition to renewable energy. The government is struggling to come up with a new concept to promote the inefficient technology in the future.

The Baedeker travel guide is now available in an environmentally-friendly version. The 200-page book, entitled "Germany - Discover Renewable Energy," lists the sights of the solar age: the solar café in Kirchzarten, the solar golf course in Bad Saulgau, the light tower in Solingen and the "Alster Sun" in Hamburg, possibly the largest solar boat in the world.

The only thing that's missing at the moment is sunshine. For weeks now, the 1.1 million solar power systems in Germany have generated almost no electricity. The days are short, the weather is bad and the sky is overcast.

As is so often the case in winter, all solar panels more or less stopped generating electricity at the same time. To avert power shortages, Germany currently has to import large amounts of electricity generated at nuclear power plants in France and the Czech Republic. To offset the temporary loss of solar power, grid operator Tennet resorted to an emergency backup plan, powering up an old oil-fired plant in the Austrian city of Graz.

Solar energy has the potential to become the most expensive mistake in German environmental policy.

German and Chinese Solar Firms Fight for Survival - SPIEGEL ONLINE


People in Germany aren't buying all these solar modules because the sun shines particularly often in their country. They're buying them because they will receive subsidies known as feed-in tariffs for the electricity for 20 years. The state has guaranteed every producer of solar power a price that was initially 50 euro cents per kilowatt hour higher than the market price.

Since making solar modules is no longer difficult, more and more companies have entered the sector in recent years, not only in Germany and China, but also in Japan and Korea. However, the subsidies available in Germany have not been limited to electricity produced by German-made solar panels, as politicians did not specify where the modules should come from. In Italy, by contrast, power customers receive a bonus for installing solar panels made in Europe. As a result, the German subsidy program has had an effect across the world, and primarily in Asia.

This led to a bubble in the solar-technology market. Manufacturers worldwide were soon making far more modules than customers wanted to purchase, and they started to undercut each other's prices, which fell by 50 percent last year.

Since then, one manufacturer after the other has filed for bankruptcy, more than half a dozen in Germany alone since December.

The Germans have shelled out over €100 billion alone in funding for the solar panels that have been installed to date. This is paid for by all electricity customers, who will soon be shelling out 4 cents per kilowatt hour on their utility bills to support solar power.

The Germans are getting dinged in wallet 3 ways. And getting FINED HEAVILY for exceeding energy quotas in their homes.. When they discovered that they are paying TWICE for solar power --- Once for the $100B in subsidies, and TWICE for the REAL Power plants that must be present to provide RELIABLE energy --- they got furious..

Should not be subsidizing ANYTHING that is a mature commodity. Not to this extent. It's no bargain, other plants must be idled to take it on the grid, and therefore it's not REPLACING anything in any meaningful way. More than not -- the fossil plants keep running and dumping energy into the ground...

BTW: Der Speigel is the Time Magazine of Germany.. Not exactly a "right-wing" rag either.