Germany’s economy is viewed as the most successful major economy in the world today and the key bedrock for European recovery. While many conservative leaders in the United States are calling on the tearing up of environmental protections to help our economy, Germany has shown the fallacy of that claim. The Germans continue to set new records on environmental protection. This week the German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour — literally half of the energy used through the key midday hours in the country.
That is the equivalent to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity without any radioactive waste left over. The Germans are getting rid of all nuclear plants after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year. Instead, the entire country will be using greater renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass.
This is not some tiny country with a mainly tourism economy but one of the greatest industrial nations on Earth. It vividly demonstrates how far we have fallen back in the leadership on environmental issues and technology. As we return to an oil and coal emphasis on energy, the Germans are expanding their control over this industry and reducing the health costs of pollution for their population. It is the very definition of leadership and vision that is so lacking in our own country.
To our German friends, we say gut durchgebraten and danke danke?
Source: Inside
Tony C., I don’t doubt goals were possible, if we had been pushed for it — even several ventilating skylights on the South facing shed roof. But possibly the aesthetics were in uppermost in his mind — and on that score he scored well we think.
@DonS: I am surprised an architect could not accomplish both engineering goals; privacy AND passive solar. Or perhaps he just did not want to bother at the time and was only concerned with his aesthetics; I have seen that too…
Where I live, solar is workable in one part of the year, but not in another. People switch over to wind generation when it is most appropriate, starting in about November.
Regional and micro power supplies, working with the environment of a particular geography, make a lot of sense. We spend so much money on nuclear energy and oil and gas. These forms of energy extraction cost lives and our world’s environment. We could redirect away from their use on a national scale but this will not occur due to corruption of govt. officials and the interlocking directorate between corporations and the govt.
Small community based or individual systems are a good way to go.
Tony C., meant to add, on the small, simple scale, community-based or even individual wind turbines are a totally different animal than industrial sized, with quite a different set of factors that recommend them.
Tony C., couldn’t agree more on simple and small (btw, I am not closely related to E.F. . . ., but we do share the same last name). I’ve live in a house in the Virginia mountains with renovations designed to take advantage of a due South, downhill slope, and modest roof overhang. It worked great for the important cold months. We moved to another and did renovations but without solar consideration (the architect/friend — who we bought the previous house from! — convinced us that privacy was more important), and boy do we miss and regret the decision.
Here in Nova Scotia, where we have a small summer cottage (since retired) we have South facing window array (12 ganged single hungs on a littler over 30 foot wall — up and down — it’s not too much in this cool climate). Also a single 4 x 8 solar hot air panel, with thermostatic transfer fan, to help keep electric heating costs down in the winter and early Spring [now!] (only heat the vacant .house to maybe 5C/44F to preserve drywall integrity, but have to cover the downstairs windows with curtains for ‘security’ when we’re not in here). And Nova Scotia has very high electric rates since the Province sold off the utility to a private concern, with guaranteed rate of return, arrgh
In any case, the original point you make, simple. Yes. At the very least I vow from here on out to always at least consider passive solar construction, renovation, retrofit, etc. Related, I think I’ve read that photovotaics have overtaken thermal units on cost effectiveness though it’s hard for me to imagine.
Berliner:
I hate to say it but I think it is cheaper to live in Germany although I havent done the conversion for the living quarters.
we pay 7200 dollars for health care and we get it through my wifes work. You guys are paying about 2/3 of what we pay for a private plan.
How much of your population is on welfare or other government support, excepting pensioners?
In the states it is quite high and about 50% of our annual federal budget goes to all types of social welfare payments. What is the percentage in Germany?
Tony C.,
Oops …”even to powering an all electric transportation system.” … sorry, I missed that in my first read of your post.
The whole mindset that power needs to be generated on a massive scale and transmitted over long distances in AC to be effective is a fools errand.
(Power2Choose tm) A self Regenerating Uninterruptable Power Supply is with in arms reach . While meeting every objective of “Smart Grid ” it become the first power source as it bends the ROI curve in favor of the consumer freeing him / her from absolute dependence on grid power. Home grow micro grid DC is a much more cost effective approach.
We are the first 100 companies in the field http://emergealliance.org/About/OurMembers.aspx
Tony C.,
Such a grid as you imagine could also be applied to powering electric cars across the country. (Thinking of the “cell phone” tower application etc.)
@DonS: I am more focused (pun intended) on simplifying thermal solar technology; I would like to see that available for the home. I think the typical residential roof top is enough area to provide most residences with all the power they need, even without ANY energy saving protocols. (Although I do expect typical, cheap, routine things like insulation, and off-the-shelf energy efficiency for A/C, heating, refrigeration, and cooking, but nothing dramatic is needed.)
I believe the price of thermal solar can be driven down to the price of coal or hydro (from dams). The trick is, I think, to reinvent the steam engine, and rework that design from scratch using modern tools, mathematics, materials and insight.
For example, with modern materials and precision, we can make steam engines that do not require lubrication or cooling. A steam engine itself has zero emissions except for water and heat, and the heat can be recycled in a way that makes the steam engine about 70% efficient in converting heat to electricity. The 30% “waste heat” is no environmental problem, the sun was going to dump 100% of the heat on the ground or into the air anyway, and our total collection area would be a small percentage compared to the open plains in this country.
I will also note that the steam engine output can be used for hot, clean, steam-distilled water.
Although I would welcome government-financed research into this area to develop the technology needed, to be released into the public domain as free design, after that I would let the commercial sector compete to provide systems and service to consumers. That would take most home-owners off the grid.
In cities where residents of tall apartment buildings do not have an adequate share of the sky to generate their energy, the energy they are buying could still be generated by rural solar thermal plants.
But my preference is for fifty-million private generating points rather than a few very large generating points. It reduces the infrastructure, reduces the impact of outages, and is simply far more robust. It is even a military advantage, because there is no longer a single point of attack to disable a million homes; if power was generated everywhere, we would evolve systems that made power ubiquitous. e.g. cell phone towers could generate their own power on site, and both the cell phone network and the Internet could remain up and running regardless of what happens to the main grid. The main grid would become a back-up system.
I do not see that sort of thing happening with PV or wind; they require too much space per watt or cost too much per watt to approximate the energy cost Americans are used to paying.
I do not rule out a breakthrough, but at the moment I really think solar thermal is the horse that could go all the way, by itself, even to powering an all electric transportation system.
Part of the reason for that belief is the simplicity (and therefore acceptability) of the concepts. It is just a system of mirrors focusing light, to provide the heat for a steam engine boiler. A sixth grader can understand that. Any car mechanic can become an expert on the steam engine, any home electrician can become an expert on the electrical end, and the mirrors can be stamped out industrially at a cost of 15c per sf and are installed and adjusted very much like a satellite dish.
I think simplicity of concept is a key to acceptance. The majority of people will not employ a solution if they fear that maintenance or failure might cost them a fortune. It is the ubiquity of understanding that ensures enough service firms will exist that competition drives the cost of service into a reasonable range (like car mechanics, heating and A/C mechanics, home repair men, etc).
Bron,
You *heat* with electricity? Warm water and heating is on average 10 euro per square meter per year here in Berlin (natural gas or district heating, fuel oil is a bit cheaper).
Rent: In Berlin rent is something like 5 to 10 euro per square meter depending on size and location.
Food is quite variable isn’t it? I don’t know what the average is.
A bottle of beer? At the supermarket a 20 bottle (0.5 liter) crate is around 10 euro, so 0.5 euro for the beer in one bottle. And a deposit of, I dunno, three point something euro for the bottles and the crate.
Deli sandwich? Not quite sure what the German equivalent is. Here in Berlin a Döner Kebab is two to three euros. You’ll get a bread roll with cold cuts for one or two euro in a bakery.
A new VW Golf in the basic version is somewhere around 15000-17000 euro. The “average” version might be closer to 20000-25000 euro.
Taxes (just plugged it into a program as a single, no kids, every public payroll program):
gross pay: 35856 euro
income tax (local+state+federal): 5887 euro
payroll taxes: pension fund: 3513 euro
payroll taxes: unemployment: 537 euro
payroll taxes: health insurance: 2940 euro
payroll taxes: long term nursing care: 439 euro
net pay: 22536 euro
You can buy apartments in Berlin from 1000 to 10000 euro per square meter, depending on size, quality, and location.
p.s., Bron, “Galtian overlords” is merely a hat tip to Atrios, whom I admire an excellent practitioner of snark, fact based. I should stick to literal English perhaps. I doubt I will all the time 😉
DonS:
I was just surprised that you would think it so hard to resist propaganda based on the content of your posts.
I do agree that cars and buses have gained prominence. I am not sure if I am correct about this but I believe government had a hand in doing away with public transportation soon after the production of the automobile.
As I am sure you are aware, the US had a very extensive city transportation system of electric trains, cable cars, subways, trains [my grandmother tells me stories of her father taking the train from Kirkwood, Mo into St. Louis for work] in the early 20th century.
Government wanted to aid car, truck and bus manufacturers. The results were a bunch of cars and buses. The government is trying to put that Genie back in the bottle, probably with the same bad consequences in some other area.
I do agree that Europe has a better lifestyle than we do, which is a shame. People do need time off to recharge batteries. I also think there are segments of our society who are not paid enough but prosperity raises wages and working conditions as employers must offer more to attract labor.
Europe has paid a price for their policies as you see daily.
In my mind there is only one way toward increasing the wages and life style of labor and that is through prosperity based on economic and political freedom.
I am not so worried about the media nor Galtian overlords. The former is a joke and the latter, if I understand their tenets, want government out of economics and out of our lives in general except for a few areas like national defense and the court system.
Tony C., you’re welcome. We have had cause over the past year to become much more educated about wind turbines and industrial wind farms. While I don’t want to get into a full blown discussion, I would just say the picture is mixed. If you’re interested, here are a couple of site related to industrial wind development:
http://www.wind-watch.org/
http://www.windaction.org/
Bron, thanks for acknowledging that I have a mind at all.
Anyway, lot’s of folks, especially Americans, like to dismiss the European way. Sometimes I think it’s because Americans just can’t conceive that others have it better, and can do things as well or better. I take the example of our transportation ‘system’, infrastructure and hardware, which is largely unregulated and geared toward favoring the automobile, as not working very well from an environmental as well as functional standpoint.
I might also suggest that it is not just the absolute cost of goods and services, but the overall quality of life that matters. While it’s true that the balance in Europe right now seems precarious, they do pretty well on the quality of life scale, IMO.
We, only 2 of us as well, also are very conservative in our use of electricity, heat etc. My thoughts on pricing policy relate more to social and planetary concerns, than solely personal. In the social, rather than the merely personal sphere, I do worry about the effect of media masters and Galtian overlords. I guess you don’t.
@DonS: That is actually a clever idea. The author in that article acknowledges both flaws I knew of; but advantageous spacing between turbines, to avoid turbulent interference, is not something I had heard considered before.
And you are also right, that might make it viable. The midpoint of their estimate is 34 watts per square meter == 3.16 watts per square foot. A typical PV panel generates about 9 watts per square foot (solar thermal can do about three times that).
So this is 35% of the energy from PV, but they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Plus, solar is typically only strong enough to generate about nine hours a day and the wind does blow when the sun doesn’t shine.
Thanks for the info.
DonS:
I would say 300 million individuals making free, independent decisions on how to live their lives without interference from out of touch, simple minded bureaucrats works pretty well.
If you are worried about your media masters and Galtian overlords propagandizing you, then may I humbly suggest you do something to strengthen your feeble mind.
May I suggest that Germany works so well because German bureaucrats are very much smarter than American bureaucrats. In Germany since you cant make much money in the private sector, going into public service attracts the best and brightest, while in America it is the other way round.
bettykath:
I would think the coal mines price cleanup costs in the cost of a ton of coal.
Berliner:
Thank you for the clarification.
If Germans wish to pay 3 times what we pay for electricity that is their right. I have no desire to pay $750/month for my electricity, there are only 2 of us and we keep the lights off and lower or raise the thermostat for winter and summer and keep the hot water set to the lowest safe setting.
Just out of curiosity how much on average for the following items:
rent
food
bottle of beer
deli sandwich
car (average like a ford Taurus but German made)
total tax burden for the federal level as a % of say e35,856 ($45,000/year US)
cost of 3 bedroom 2 bath house or condominium, you may call them apartments
Thank you in advance.
See how easy it is? Thanks Berliner for explaining the simple process of government pricing a commodity or service to achieve socially desirable ends.
Sorry, though, that’s ‘socialist’ you know 😉 Can’t have that in the land of cowboy capitalism. We prefer 300 million separate decisions that reflect, um, what our media masters and Galtian overlords wish us to reflect.