Discussion: Solar Energy in America

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Discussion: Solar Energy in America

Fox News Claims Solar Won't Work in America Because It's Not Sunny Like Germany [slate.com]

Thanks to Fox News and its expert commentators, millions of Americans now understand the real, hidden reason why Germany's solar-energy industry is so much further along than ours. Turns out it has nothing to do with the fact that Germany's government has long supported the industry far more generously, with policies like feed-in tariffs that stimulate investment in green technologies. No, the real reason is much simpler, explained a trio of journalists on Fox & Friends: It's always sunny in Germany!

Fox and Friends "expert", Shibani Joshi, claims solar energy will never work in the U.S. (esp. the east coast) because we don't get enough sunshine. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJN0B2RIIMI

Last edited by highfloydelity; 02-11-2013 at 07:01 AM..

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02-08-2013, 12:33 PM
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02-08-2013, 12:57 PM

paperboy05 L10: Grand Master Member sinceApr 2005 Posts18,552 LocationEast of the Badlands, ND Reputation 312 Followers 0 + Give Rep	Did you mean to post this in the Lounge?
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02-08-2013, 01:01 PM

LivninSC L10: Grand Master Member sinceJan 2004 Posts10,991 LocationCalifornia Reputation 627 Followers 0 + Give Rep
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02-08-2013, 01:29 PM

L10: Grand Master

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Quote from paperboy05

Did you mean to post this in the Lounge?

Nope. Please discuss the video.

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02-08-2013, 01:30 PM

paperboy05

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Quote from highfloydelity

Nope. Please discuss the video.

What's there to discuss? A Fox News Business reporter said something crazy. /Thread.

GZ Case:

Random Topics Forum: http://randomtopics.org/viewforum.php?f=48
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02-08-2013, 01:35 PM

L10: Grand Master

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Quote from paperboy05

What's there to discuss? A Fox News Business reporter said something crazy. /Thread.

No. Solar energy in the US vs. Germany. They (in the video) say we're not able to compete but yet fail to acknowledge the fact that the Germans are much more invested in their infrastructure that we are. Why can't we follow their lead?

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02-08-2013, 01:38 PM

paperboy05

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Quote from highfloydelity

Why didn't you frame this thread in that direction then? Instead you highlight the stupid statement by a Fox Business reporter.

Hell, you didn't even have a side note about US v Germany solar differences. But to answer the non-existent question [washingtonpost.com]:

Quote :

Why the difference? Policy is the big factor. The German government has heavily subsidized renewable energy for years through a variety of measures. Perhaps most crucially, the country’s “feed-in tariffs” allow ordinary people to install solar panels on their rooftops and sell the power to the grid at favorable rates. (The costs are then shared by all electricity users.)

Solar installations are also much cheaper in Germany — about half as cheap as they are in the United States. Partly that’s because the industry is bigger. But a recent report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered a bunch of smaller factors, too. Permitting is easier in Germany. And German solar installers spend less on marketing, inspections, and grid-connection fees. That all adds up.

Now, there’s a crucial flip side to this story, too: Germany’s renewable-energy splurge isn’t free. Far from it. This year, the average three-person family will likely have to pay an extra $220 on their electric bills to finance all that new wind and solar construction. And German lawmakers have debated whether to pare back the billions in feed-in subsidies for solar power, particularly since it’s a cloudy country and wind turbines are still a much cheaper form of clean energy.

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02-08-2013, 01:39 PM

L10: Grand Master

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Quote from paperboy05

Because you were supposed to watch the video. Did you? I can't help what the title of the article was. I'm not allowed to change it. Furthermore, I didn't highlight anything. I copied the first paragraph and the links/pics.

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02-08-2013, 01:44 PM

empiretc L6: Expert Member sinceMay 2005 Posts1,904 Reputation 90 Followers 0 + Give Rep	Fox & Friends; satirical morning show- did you get this worked up when they interviewed Santa? If the lunch meat called spam became the catchword for a depersonalized email message, then social networking should be known as soylent green! Please, do not text & drive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRwfq7Igvxc
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02-08-2013, 01:47 PM

Xygonn

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Quote from highfloydelity

It costs a shitload of money and solar only makes 6% of their total electricity. They are shutting down their nukes and building 10 to 20 new fossil plants. So they are kinda green. I guess?

They do get flashy headlines on sunny/low use days where 50% comes from solar (for an hour)!

If I appear to be ignoring your posts, it's probably because you are on my ignore list.

Xuéxi zhōngwén

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02-08-2013, 01:49 PM

paperboy05

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Quote from highfloydelity

Because you were supposed to watch the video. Did you? I can't help what the title of the article was.

You can sure as hell help which paragraph you quoted. Wink

Quote :

Furthermore, I didn't highlight anything. I copied the first paragraph and the links/pics.

Why take out the first paragraph when you intent for the thread is completely separate from the intent of the paragraph?

And was this sentence part of the article? "Fox and Friends "expert", Shibani Joshi, claims solar energy will never work in the U.S. (esp. the east coast) because we don't get enough sunshine. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry." A Firefox find returns no results... Roll Eyes (Sarcastic)

So the intent of the thread was to discuss differences in US v German solar technology; while quoting a Slate blog, pasting the first paragraph of said blog which highlights the misinformation from a Fox Business reporter, and your own opinion as to that statement and specifically the reporter. Crazy

Last edited by paperboy05; 02-08-2013 at 01:52 PM..

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02-08-2013, 02:15 PM

gpister L6: Expert Member sinceOct 2008 Posts1,507 LocationSo-Cal Reputation 114 Followers 0 + Give Rep	It will work where I live tons of son and super hot in the summer I guess it just depends where. just being slick
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02-08-2013, 02:21 PM

PartyInTheUSA L5: Journeyman Member sinceDec 2009 Posts749 Reputation 160 Followers 0 + Give Rep	I'm sure op was similarly outraged when msnbc purposely edited a video clip to manufacture a false story about gun rights advocates heckling a newtown victim's father.
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02-08-2013, 02:31 PM

Rebound

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The question is whether Shibani Joshi is credible when she says that the reason for Germany's success in solar is that Germany gets more sunshine than the United States. I've been to Germany many times, and I know that's not so.

According to maps put out by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, virtually the entirety of the continental United States gets more sun than even the sunniest part of Germany. In fact, NREL senior scientist Sarah Kurtz said via email, "Germany's solar resource is akin to Alaska's," the U.S. state with by far the lowest annual average of direct solar energy.

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