The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar
Written by Helga
Wednesday, 15 September 2010 10:21
I spent three weeks in Germany this past August with my family, and one thing I noticed right off the bat there – all the solar panels. Everywhere. Thousands of them! On businesses, farms, small and large homes, in big cities and in rural towns. I had some serious solar panel envy.
I thought I would look further into why so many people had taken the solar leap.
That's an impressive array of solar panels!
Turns out, Germany is one of the European Unions largest emitter of greenhouse gases. According to EU Kyoto Protocol, Germany was obligated to reduce emissions by 20% of 1990 levels by 2012. By 2006, emissions were 18.5% below 1990 levels. This impressive number was not just the result of greener efforts on Germany’s part but largely due to the closure of East Germany’s industrial capacity.
In 1991, Germany began their “1000 Roofs” program, in which the government gave subsidies to people, to cover the cost of solar rooftop installation. Within a few years, 2000 grid-connected solar paneled rooftops were installed. The program then expanded into the “100,000 Roofs”. That program ended in 2004 with success. 100,000 roofs and counting!
On businesses...
On farms...
Part of the success of solar power is due to feed-in tariffs. Basically, this is an incentive program by the government paying people a premium rate whose solar panels are supplying power to the public grid. In Europe, feed-in tariffs have fueled huge growth in solar and wind industries.
I would love to see more programs like this expand nation-wide here in the United States. Right now, there are some states – like California, of course! – that offer feed-in tariffs, as do Vermont, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and parts of Florida. Hopefully we can see incentive programs like this spread throughout the USA to encourage more people to make a more concrete change.
On homes...
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YVW! Got a taste of PassvieHaus from @Livegreenmom 's trip to Germany > http://ht.ly/3Uc7N but dare I dream a US full? > http://ht.ly/3UcaZ
The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://bit.ly/dv6n0l
It’s true, solar has had quite a boom here and state subsidies have helped to fund a lot of research and development. However, the incentives are now being reduced year by year. It is assumed that the industry should now be able to support itself, but already the number of new installations of solar panels is sinking. But still, the program has brought a lot of technological innovation and I think a lot of German businesses are taking advantage of it.
The Spiegel has a much more detailed assessment here (in English): http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,690297,00.html
: The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://bit.ly/dv6n0l
The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://goo.gl/fb/8qeg5
Ditto what Kim said. It makes me sad that other countries are ahead of us – not envious or jealous, just sort of sad that we can’t get on the ball. I hope we do catch up!
I know, we can dream though! Thanks for stopping by & reading.
I see you are really rocking the TerraCycle collections these days!
The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://bit.ly/dv6n0l I love solar energy!
The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://goo.gl/fb/8qeg5 I heart solar!
RT @LiveGreenMom: The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://bit.ly/dv6n0l I love solar!
The Green Efforts in Germany, Part 2 – Solar http://bit.ly/dv6n0l I love solar!
I loved seeing all the solar panels everywhere in Germany… http://fb.me/wzRl3Uti
Thanks for sharing this! Europe is way ahead of the U.S. on green living, and while we always hear about it, it’s nice to see reporting from someone who has been there and has left enthralled! Good stuff!
Thanks Kim! The EU is way ahead of us on the the green frontier, but hopefully the USA will catch up. Hopefully!