Europe, especially Germany, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal are ahead of us in alternative energy by percentage of power generated, and maybe more importantly, by making local grids self reliable. An outage has little impact on houses or villages that produce their own energy for part of all of the day. This strengthens the whole economy and nation. It's very nice to see the news photo of a solar generating feedlot shading the cattle and making clean energy, it's a small but important step. Driving through Germany you will encounter many farms with solar PVs in the pasture, high enough for cattle or sheep to graze under them, spaced so the grass still gets enough sun to grow, double income for the farm, power for the locals. You will see streets with a solar units on most every house.
This is like a movie trailer, this is what the future looks like for those who will maintain a good standard of living and provide industry and commerce with reliable clean energy. Over the years this energy form will be the cheapest, if not in the initial investment, then in the overall. Either we invest in the future, or we die in the past.
California feedlot with solar PVs.
German pasture with solar PVs.
Almost every house has solar PVs in this German neighborhood.
Darrel,
ReplyDeleteYou have Peabody Coal Company and Mitch McConnell to deal with. Oh, McConnell is reported to be in a tie with his likely Democratic opponent.
Sarge
Heard a piece on NPR awhile back about getting church groups into energy savings. The thought occurred to me that churches would be ideal places for solar panels (providing they are facing the right direction). Most days of the week they'd be putting energy into the grid instead of drawing from it.
ReplyDeleteKulkuri, Thats pretty cool isn't it, never thought of that, there's a place with only temporary or limited demands against daily potential.
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