Too Much solar, Small the New Big, Leaf Production
Germany Reports: We Have too Much Solar
I have known for some time that Germany was a world leader in solar power. Looking at the reports involving amount of kilowatts produced by solar power, Germany is near the top of the list and the United States is somewhere down the list. Germany, for years, has allowed homeowners to install solar electric, feed the electricity back into the grid, and get paid for it. Not only is Germany’s solar program great for producing electricity, it’s also good for power conservation. The more a household learned to conserved electricity the more money they made from their electrical generation.
Recently, the chairman of the DENA Agency, an agency that advises the government on energy, warned the government that they had too much solar power feeding back into the grid. Germany is looking at nearly 10 gigawatts of solar power, about the same as 10 coal-fired power plants, being installed in just the coming year. The DENA advises the government to restrict solar growth to 1 gigawatt per year.
Germany’s solar growth has been so successful because of government subsidies ( nearly 50% in past years ) and the feed-in-tariff program that allows households to get paid for their extra juice. To slow the rate of solar growth, the German government is reducing the solar subsidies by about 16%. By the way, the German solar industry has reportedly disagreed with the DENA findings.
Here in the United States, solar subsidies vary greatly from one power company area to another. State tax credits also vary from one State to the next. The only thing we can count on being the same from one ocean to the other is the Federal Tax Credit. If you are considering installing solar power, be sure and contact your power provider first. By far, most solar installations on homes in the United States do not get paid for their access power. Homes are advised not to install more solar capacity then they can use.
Oh, by the way – speaking about subsidies, it appears the average American will pay - in the next five years, about $7.25 towards solar subsidies and about $521.75 to fossil fuel subsidies. Can we get it right or what!
Smaller Homes are the Next Big Thing.
The home cost about $500,000, has 4,200 square feet of heated living area attached to a three car garage. The household consists of two adults, one cat and one dog and one car. The four of them live in one room 90% of the time. Thank goodness the family room is open to the kitchen so they don’t have to walk too far to take on nourishment. All they really need is a refrigerator and a flat screen T.V. Give them a few more years and they probably won’t need the bedroom, they will just fall asleep in their recliners. The home has a formal living room and dining room and the only time anyone goes in those two rooms is when they are carrying a dust rag.
What do you want to bet, if you visited this couple for some conversation, the conversation would center around their home and and how expensive it was to live there. People have the ability to be proud of how much they pay to keep their house going. It’s kind of a – my dad can beat up your dad – infection.
According to the U.S. census bureau, in the past 60 years, house size has increased 120%, while family size has dropped 24% – square footage per family member has nearly tripled. The average house size in 1950, 1,100 sq. ft. – the average house size in 2008, 2,518 sq. ft.
What’s the bottom dollar?
1. Small homes are cheaper to build and maintain than large homes. They cover up less ground.
2. People are not able to afford big homes, so builders are going to be building smaller homes.
3. Smaller homes are greener and more energy efficient.
4. A smaller home has more room than you need just like a bigger home does.
Get Out the Rake, the LEAF is on the Way.
The Prius has been the flag ship for electric cars. I love the Prius, it looks like a normal car just enough to fool you and it looks different just enough to have people make fun of it. Who drives a baby blue Prius, well, let’s not get into that.
We have heard so much about the next generation of production electric cars that it’s hard to believe they are actually going to start rolling off the assembly line. Nissan is finally going to deliver the LEAF. The LEAF is slated to go on sale in December in Japan and the United States. The Oppama plant in Japan has a capacity of 50,000 units. Here in the U.S., production at the Smyrna plant will begin in 2012.
I wonder if there is a waiting list?
Hey, thanks for stopping by, come back real soon, but remember, I won’t leave the lights on for you…Don Ames