Why isnt Florida solar powered?

[jambo101]

With the amount of sun Florida receives why isnt Florida wall to wall solar powered houses? as i drive through the state it seems its the rare house that has solar panels on the roof. If solar is the way to go its going to have to happen/start in places like Florida before it becomes the norm for the rest of the country.

 

[ScienceRocks]

The southwest that has better regulations for solar is increasing very fast. Florida's problem is the regulations are against it.

 

[Politico]

With the amount of sun Florida receives why isnt Florida wall to wall solar powered houses? as i drive through the state it seems its the rare house that has solar panels on the roof. If solar is the way to go its going to have to happen/start in places like Florida before it becomes the norm for the rest of the country.

As a person who uses solar power I can say you haven't driven through anything. And even if you had you have no clue. Otherwise you would know Florida ranks near the bottom for peak hours.

 

[Ravi]

Stormy weather.

 

[Toro]

It's not economical.

My aunt had them on her winter place and it didn't pay.

 

[Mr. H.]

It's not economical.

My aunt had them on her winter place and it didn't pay.

When did economics ever play a role in solar applications?

 

[whitehall]

It takes about a football field to power a freaking house. Where are you going to put the panels? Over the Everglades? The bottom line is that solar energy technology is expensive and at it's peak it only adds a fraction to the grid.

 

[RGR]

With the amount of sun Florida receives why isnt Florida wall to wall solar powered houses?

Old folks don't like change? Electricity coming from coal fired and nuke plants was good enough for them growing up, it is good enough for them in retirement?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

The southwest that has better regulations for solar is increasing very fast. Florida's problem is the regulations are against it.

Lotta cloudy days too. Make such power less efficient and thus more expensive. Desert southwest is better.

 

[RGR]

It's not economical.

My aunt had them on her winter place and it didn't pay.

When did economics ever play a role in solar applications?

Yup. Gizmo guys like me like them though, but we are easily fascinated by such bright and shiny objects just because...well...they are bright and shiny. But the economics of it aren't really the issue.

 

[Political Junky]

Maybe Florida's republican governor has something to do with it.

 

[Manonthestreet]

State of MN is forcing utilities to build solar power plants. Cant wait for the big fat zero output days to roll in during winter...

 

[Political Junky]

Germany gets lots of energy from solar and they don't have the sunny days that parts of the US does.

 

[Manonthestreet]

They get big fat zeros in winter too

 

[Political Junky]

Solar power in Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solar power in Germany consists mostly of photovoltaics (PV) and — to a lesser extent — of solar heating. The country has been the world's top PV installer for several years and still leads in terms of the overall installed capacity, that amounts to 36,708 megawatts (MW) by June 2014, ahead of China, Italy, Japan, or the United States.[1]

About 1.4 million PV systems are installed all over the country, ranging from small roof-top systems, to medium commercial and large utility scaled solar parks, that altogether contributed 7 percent, or about 18 terawatt-hours to the overall electricity generation during the first six months of 2014. This brings the country's share of renewable energy to almost 31 percent, and in line with the official governmental goal of reaching 35 percent by the end of the decade.[2]
<more>

 

[westwall]

Germany gets lots of energy from solar and they don't have the sunny days that parts of the US does.

Then why is solar failing in Germany? State wide the Germans are abandoning renewables. They are grotesquely expensive and useless in winter.


Germany produced a record 23.9 gigawatts of electricity yesterday from thousands of solar photovoltaic systems, according to SMA Solar Technology.

Despite setting yet another solar world record, the collapse of Germany’s solar energy industry seems to be spreading downstream from manufacturers to distributors and installers.

On Friday, Gehrlicher Solar and Conergy, two of Germany’s leading downstream solar power companies, filed for insolvency.

In 2011, Gehrlicher Solar, a wholesale distributor of photovoltaic components that also offers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for solar projects, reported $415 million in revenues.

Meanwhile, the collapse of Conergy comes after two failed efforts to close a new round of investment to support a shift in Conergy’s go-to-market strategy to focus on downstream solar project development and distribution.

Germany's Solar Industry Is Imploding - Forbes



"Germany could face widespread winter blackouts following Angela Merkel's "knee-jerk" decision to decommission the country's nuclear power stations, according to German power grid operators.

The warning from four energy providers came after the German chancellor suggested she agreed with a proposal to shut down all of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants by 2022.

Seven nuclear power stations have been off-grid ever since Merkel announced in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima disaster a "three-month moratorium" on her controversial decision last year to extend the lives of the plants."




Germany nuclear shutdown by 2022 may mean blackouts, Merkel warned | Environment | theguardian.com

 

[flacaltenn]

Another big reason for lack of Solar in Florida residential is insurance. You can barely GET home insurance there now because of the hurricane risk.. I doubt Hurricane riders would even cover solar panels. But I don't know that.

You've got a $8K to $15K investment up on roof that may need storm damage maintenance a lot more often than elsewhere -- and it's in the way of doing roof repairs..

Florida IS doing some Solar Thermal concentrators that are integrated with Nat Gas plants. That's a great concept for handling daytime peak WITHOUT having to build a separate FULL TIME generator.

 

[Old Rocks]

Germany gets lots of energy from solar and they don't have the sunny days that parts of the US does.

Then why is solar failing in Germany? State wide the Germans are abandoning renewables. They are grotesquely expensive and useless in winter.


Germany produced a record 23.9 gigawatts of electricity yesterday from thousands of solar photovoltaic systems, according to SMA Solar Technology.

Despite setting yet another solar world record, the collapse of Germany’s solar energy industry seems to be spreading downstream from manufacturers to distributors and installers.

On Friday, Gehrlicher Solar and Conergy, two of Germany’s leading downstream solar power companies, filed for insolvency.

In 2011, Gehrlicher Solar, a wholesale distributor of photovoltaic components that also offers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for solar projects, reported $415 million in revenues.

Meanwhile, the collapse of Conergy comes after two failed efforts to close a new round of investment to support a shift in Conergy’s go-to-market strategy to focus on downstream solar project development and distribution.

Germany's Solar Industry Is Imploding - Forbes



"Germany could face widespread winter blackouts following Angela Merkel's "knee-jerk" decision to decommission the country's nuclear power stations, according to German power grid operators.

The warning from four energy providers came after the German chancellor suggested she agreed with a proposal to shut down all of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants by 2022.

Seven nuclear power stations have been off-grid ever since Merkel announced in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima disaster a "three-month moratorium" on her controversial decision last year to extend the lives of the plants."




Germany nuclear shutdown by 2022 may mean blackouts, Merkel warned | Environment | theguardian.com

Clearing Up the Facts About Solar In Germany

SPIEGEL: “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.”

FACT: During Europe’s extreme cold weather in February 2012, German news reported that Germany actually increased its electricity exports, thanks in part to photovoltaics helping to strengthen grid stability at peak hours. France, in turn, relying on nuclear powered heating, had to import electricity from Germany.

FACT: Germany has been a longtime net electricity exporter. In Summer 2011, the country did need to intermittently import electricity from neighboring countries; however, the cause was not attributed to photovoltaics, but to the nation’s ambitious shutdown of 8 nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster. Despite this bold move, Germany again became a net exporter of electricity in October 2011, according to the International Energy Agency’s most recent statistics.

Never let facts get in the way of your political lies, Walleyes.

 

[Old Rocks]

Germany gets lots of energy from solar and they don't have the sunny days that parts of the US does.

Then why is solar failing in Germany? State wide the Germans are abandoning renewables. They are grotesquely expensive and useless in winter.


Germany produced a record 23.9 gigawatts of electricity yesterday from thousands of solar photovoltaic systems, according to SMA Solar Technology.

Despite setting yet another solar world record, the collapse of Germany’s solar energy industry seems to be spreading downstream from manufacturers to distributors and installers.

On Friday, Gehrlicher Solar and Conergy, two of Germany’s leading downstream solar power companies, filed for insolvency.

In 2011, Gehrlicher Solar, a wholesale distributor of photovoltaic components that also offers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for solar projects, reported $415 million in revenues.

Meanwhile, the collapse of Conergy comes after two failed efforts to close a new round of investment to support a shift in Conergy’s go-to-market strategy to focus on downstream solar project development and distribution.

Germany's Solar Industry Is Imploding - Forbes



"Germany could face widespread winter blackouts following Angela Merkel's "knee-jerk" decision to decommission the country's nuclear power stations, according to German power grid operators.

The warning from four energy providers came after the German chancellor suggested she agreed with a proposal to shut down all of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants by 2022.

Seven nuclear power stations have been off-grid ever since Merkel announced in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima disaster a "three-month moratorium" on her controversial decision last year to extend the lives of the plants."




Germany nuclear shutdown by 2022 may mean blackouts, Merkel warned | Environment | theguardian.com

Clearing Up the Facts About Solar In Germany

SPIEGEL: “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.”

FACT: During Europe’s extreme cold weather in February 2012, German news reported that Germany actually increased its electricity exports, thanks in part to photovoltaics helping to strengthen grid stability at peak hours. France, in turn, relying on nuclear powered heating, had to import electricity from Germany.

FACT: Germany has been a longtime net electricity exporter. In Summer 2011, the country did need to intermittently import electricity from neighboring countries; however, the cause was not attributed to photovoltaics, but to the nation’s ambitious shutdown of 8 nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster. Despite this bold move, Germany again became a net exporter of electricity in October 2011, according to the International Energy Agency’s most recent statistics.

Hmmmmmm......... Looks like solar is doing well in the winter in Germany.

 

[Old Rocks]

Clearing Up the Facts About Solar In Germany

SPIEGEL: &#8220;German consumers already complain about having to pay the second-highest electricity prices in Europe.&#8221;

FACT: According to a recent poll reported by Focus magazine, 61% of Germans do not mind paying more for electricity, as long as it comes from renewable sources. The magazine also reported that 71% would pay far more than they already are paying for clean, non-nuclear power.

FACT: That said, renewable energy surcharges only account for a modest percentage of the German ratepayer electricity bill.

FACT: Also, because the German feed-in tariff law has catalyzed wide adoption of localized renewable electricity (consider that 60% of renewable power in Germany &#8211; and 79% of solar power - is owned by private citizens, businesses, and farmers), many German residents now create their own clean energy and thus pay far less or nothing in net costs for their electricity.

FACT: Those that opt to put solar on their rooftops in Germany pay on average only 60% of what it would cost them in the US. This is because such a robust PV industry has blossomed in Germany as a result of the strong, economically supportive legal framework.

With a very active and strong market, there are bound to be some failures in that business. How many Whippets have you seen on the highway lately?