Germany sets new solar power record

[cecilia]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/26/us-climate-germany-solar-idUKBRE84P0FI20120526

Norbert Allnoch, director of the Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) in Muenster, said the 22 gigawatts of solar power per hour fed into the national grid on Saturday met nearly 50 percent of the nation's midday electricity needs.

"Never before anywhere has a country produced as much photovoltaic electricity," Allnoch told Reuters. "Germany came close to the 20 gigawatt (GW) mark a few times in recent weeks. But this was the first time we made it over."

The record-breaking amount of solar power shows one of the world's leading industrial nations was able to meet a third of its electricity needs on a work day, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when factories and offices were closed.

Government-mandated support for renewables has helped Germany became a world leader in renewable energy and the country gets about 20 percent of its overall annual electricity from those sources.

 

[Dammy]

Let us know how that works out for them during their coldest winter nights or hottest summer nights.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Let us know how that works out for them during their coldest winter nights or hottest summer nights.

Any traditional energy sources you don't use when the sun shines is energy you can use at other times. You don't run the heat in you house in summer, do you? In summer the sun is heating your house. You use other heat when the sun isn't doing enough but that doesn't mean you shouldn't use solar heat when it's available.

 

[cecilia]

Let us know how that works out for them during their coldest winter nights or hottest summer nights.

it's idiots like you who will freeze to death in the winter or get heat stroke in the summer while us smart people will be enjoying life with green energy

 

[JoBBo]

Let us know how that works out for them during their coldest winter nights or hottest summer nights.

Germans rarely use electric power for heating purposes, actually. In France, electric heating is very common which explains why Germany is a net exporter of electricity and France is a net importer.

Also, air conditioning units are not nearly as widely used as they are in the United States. For centuries, buildings have been designed to stay relatively cool during the summer months without the assistance of any electric devices. Of course, the moderate climate helps.

 

[faethor]

Good job Germany!

If one takes a look at market forces for oil Germany, and other smaller nations, simply cannot complete. The USA owns the market. But, China is nipping at our heels. Clearly oil is a resource that two big giants are going to fight over. These smaller nations are less likely to afford the left overs. That means they will need to be creative to stay competitive. Self sufficency is an unwritten mandate to small European nations as oil and gas becomes increasingly costly. Minimizing investment in expensive costs make it easier to compete on the market. Econ 101 here folks.

 

[Glaucus]

I know Greece was trying to build some big solar panel arrays, but with the current crisis, who knows where that's at now.

 

[cecilia]

I know Greece was trying to build some big solar panel arrays, but with the current crisis, who knows where that's at now.

if they want to survive they better think BIG instead of small. and going with old technology is small.

 

[Speelgoedmannetje]

I know Greece was trying to build some big solar panel arrays, but with the current crisis, who knows where that's at now.

I don't know

(I just wish the EU showed itself to be a rock solid block that helps each other where it can, not without critics but without destructive tendencies)

 

[Robert]

I know Greece was trying to build some big solar panel arrays, but with the current crisis, who knows where that's at now.

This?

... a $29 billion project could create as many as 60,000 positions in jobs-starved Greece by harvesting its abundant sunshine and shipping it to Germany, which has committed itself to moving rapidly away from nuclear power following Japan’s earthquake and nuclear crisis.​

-

The government has set a target of 2.2 GW installed capacity by 2020, including all solar technologies, with an intermediate target of 1.27 GW by 2015. Germany, meanwhile, connected 7.4 GW of photovoltaics in 2010 and had more than 17 GW cumulative by the end of the year. The country also has a national target of 51 GW for 2020. ​

​

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com...ny-greece-in-talks-over-massive-solar-project​

 

[cecilia]

This?

​

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com...ny-greece-in-talks-over-massive-solar-project​

thinking BIG