Graph of the day: The rapid rise of solar power in Germany
Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves. So I give you, without comment, the much lauded rapid rise of solar power in Germany:
7 thoughts on “Graph of the day: The rapid rise of solar power in Germany”
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Carbon Counter 
March 8, 2015 at 8:15 pm
“Final energy consumption” 😀 You are very mean Robert, at least you could have used the Electricity consumption, but then we would have noticed the significant growth reduction in the latest years.
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March 8, 2015 at 8:34 pm
Brilliant!
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March 8, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Its doubled! 50% of effectively 0 is still near zero. 🙂
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March 9, 2015 at 5:14 am
It is entirely appropriate to express this trend in terms of final energy consumption, as it is this consumption which results in the majority of emissions.
Adding solar capacity is not an end in itself, but is supposed to displace emissions-intensive forms of energy production. Or has it indeed become an end in itself? Sadly it seems some commentators have come to think so.
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March 9, 2015 at 1:45 pm
This is obviously the direct result of the austerity policies the Germans pushed on themselves and the rest of Europe. Which goes to show that austerity is just plain wrong: it is bad for the people and it is bad for the environment because it limits the investment needed in clean technologies. Usher in an era of 5% yearly growth which, considering the technological complex we live in is a strict minimum for any decently-managed modern economy, and solar power could reach 20/30% of the total energy consumption in a few years. Sorry folks, but in 2010 Europe chose to go back to the Middle-Ages!
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March 9, 2015 at 1:51 pm
I don’t know where to begin in responding to this. 20-30% solar in Germany in a few years is not even mildly plausible.
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March 19, 2015 at 5:49 pm
I live in rural Poland and find this debate interesting. We have built an eco house. By improved insulation, large conservatory for trapping heat, warming incoming air by outgoing air, ground source heat pump we have managed to reduce power consumption to about 1/4 to 1/3 of a conventional house. However, I still need electricity. In mid winter the declination of the sun is about 18 degrees, its often cloudy, there’s no wind for weeks and temperatures can dip to -20. How exactly are wind and solar power going to help? That’s why I am an unrepentant pro-nuclear (Thorium) proponent. There are really three broad solutions:
1) Mankind must use less energy, not more (and if solar/wind are the only allowed solutions, then plenty of us are going to freeze). Passive solutions like improved insultation can save plenty energy.
2) Nuclear abetted by solar/wind/geothermal etc where actually economical
3) Less use of technologies that use combustion. Whether or not global warming is happening, the percentage of CO2 has run from .293% to .4% from the start of the Industrial revolution. That means the composition of the atmosphere is changing.
Please continue posting, Robert, I like the mathematical slant
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