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Green Glitches in Germany: Energy angst abroad and confusion at home
City Journal ^
| April 12, 2010
| Charles C. Johnson
Posted on 04/12/2010 2:37:10 PM PDT by chickadee
The worst obstacle to Germanys grand plans is physics itself. A solar panel converts only 11 percent of the solar energy that it receives into usable energy, while coal and natural gas facilities convert around 40 percent of their fuel into electricity. Vast panel arrays are the only way to make solar economical: a single solar module on a very sunny day in the Sahara can create only enough energy to power one 75-watt lightbulband Germany on the brightest of days receives just half the sunlight that the Sahara does.
The governments intentions were good. Germanys foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, had hoped that a diversification of the countrys energy portfolio would make it less dependent on Russia, from which Germany buys a third of its oil and gas. And its true that unless renewables pick up the slack, Germany will become even more dependent on Russia for its fuel. But thats partly Germanys own fault: by 2020, it intends to phase out its 17 nuclear power plants, which now supply about a quarter of the nations electricity and provide the only form of renewable energy capable of meeting German demand.
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: environmentalism; germany; nimby; solar
Another country committing climate change suicide.
1
posted on
04/12/2010 2:37:11 PM PDT
by
chickadee
To: chickadee
Volksverdummung, a deliberate deception of the public, is a good term for Zero!
To: chickadee
The worst obstacle to Germanys grand plans is physics itself. I disagree.
Physics is not nearly as large an obstacle as politicians who either don't understand or who willfully deny the laws of physics. They treat the laws of economics in the same fashion. Such "leaders" continue to make one disasterous mistake after another, with other people's money. So-called "green energy" is only the latest one.
3
posted on
04/12/2010 2:53:24 PM PDT
by
TChris
("Hello", the politician lied.)
To: chickadee
But thats partly Germanys own fault: by 2020, it intends to phase out its 17 nuclear power plants, which now supply about a quarter of the nations electricity Germany: making France look good, LOL.
4
posted on
04/12/2010 2:59:11 PM PDT
by
cicero2k
To: TChris
Very well said, and, sadly, so true.
5
posted on
04/12/2010 3:02:50 PM PDT
by
chickadee
To: chickadee
Let the Germans freeze to death for their stupidity. When this happens then they will put their technological know how to building Nuclear Power Plants, Some Coal Power Plants, and some synthetic gas plants. Hell they had these Synthetic Plants in 1944-45. They have the technical know how to solve their energy problems. They have the same problems we have- liberal stupidity. So let them suffer. They will come around.
6
posted on
04/12/2010 4:59:50 PM PDT
by
truthguy
(Good intentions are not enough!)
To: chickadee
Germanys foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, had hoped that a diversification of the countrys energy portfolio would make it less dependent on Russia, from which Germany buys a third of its oil and gas. And its true that unless renewables pick up the slack, Germany will become even more dependent on Russia for its fuel.
7
posted on
04/12/2010 7:06:08 PM PDT
by
Donald Rumsfeld Fan
(Sarah Palin "the Thrilla from Wasilla")
To: Sen Jack S. Fogbound
8
posted on
04/23/2010 2:58:07 PM PDT
by
neverdem
(Xin loi minh oi)
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