GERMAN NEW ENERGY SETS RECORDS

New Record for German Renewable Energy in 2010; One-Quarter Million New Solar-Electric Systems Installed, New World Record: 7,400 MW of Solar Photovoltaics Installed in One Year, Renewable Electricity Penetration More than 30% of Supply on February 7th, New Renewables Near 17% of Electricity Supply, Renewable Generation Greater than Natural Gas--Closing in on Nuclear
Paul Gipe, March 24, 2011 (Wind-Works)

"…Germany has quietly broken more renewable energy records…The conservative government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, struggling to stay ahead of public attitudes toward nuclear power…issued its annual report on the contribution of renewable energy to the German energy market in 2010…Wind turbines, hydroelectric plants, solar cells, and biogas digesters now provide nearly 17% of Germany's electricity.

"…[T]he installation of solar photovoltaics (solar PV) in 2010…[was] nothing short of startling and will add fuel to the heated debate about how countries such as Japan can meet their electricity needs without reliance on nuclear power…The reports on the rapid growth of renewable energy in Germany may give Merkel's government the cover it needs to reverse direction on nuclear power, and by doing so reverse its faltering political fortunes."

(from Paul Gipe's Wind-Works -- click to enlarge)

"Germany uses an advanced system of feed-in tariffs to pay for renewable energy generation, and has an aggressive target of meeting 39% of its electricity supply with renewable energy by 2020…[By providing 17%, it exceeded] its 2010 target of 12.5% by a wide margin… Wind turbines and biomass plants delivered more than 70% of renewable generation…

"…In 2010 renewables generated more electricity in Germany than gas-fired power plants--nearly as much as hard coal--and are fast approaching the contribution of nuclear power…Doubling their previous record, the German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010…In December alone, Germans installed more than 1,000 MW of solar PV…[Though] only half that installed in June 2010, the December installations were 50% greater than total solar PV installed in the USA in 2010 and as much as that rumored to have been installed in Japan last year."

(from Paul Gipe's Wind-Works -- click to enlarge)

"Nearly 700 MW from some 100,000 systems were installed in a size range typical of that installed by German homeowners…An astounding 3,700 MW from more than 135,000 systems were installed in a size range representative of that installed by farmers and other small businesses…Another 1,700 MW were installed in a size class characteristic of small businesses and large industrial rooftops…Large, multi-megawatt systems comprised 1,400 MW of capacity...[There is 16,500 MW of solar PV capacity now on line in Germany. Solar insolation is weakest in mid winter, and highest in mid summer. The solar industry's February 7th performance bodes well for this coming summer, when solar PV can be expected to break new records]…

"…[The] penetration of wind and solar reached more than 30% of supply on February 7, 2010…[T]he combined real-time wind and solar generation varied from a high of 32% of supply at midnight to a low of 18% of supply at sunrise. Solar PV generation delivered more than 8,000 MW for the two-hour period from just before noon until 2:00 pm, reaching a peak of nearly 8,500 MW at noon. During the same time period, conventional sources contributed 50,000 MW and wind delivered another 10,000 MW…"