Alternate Energy Solutions From Germany

We just returned from Germany which was an opportunity to really see what the German Government is doing to support solar PV, wind and biomass CHP and District Heating. There is large Green Effort in Germany right now to utilize sustainable energy whereever it can.

The solar PV is being supported by the government throughout German and as such one sees PV panels on just about every building large and small that is south facing or in farm fields that can capture the solar energy. The range of solar installation is from small 10 collector arrays to larger 1000 collector arrays. The small arrays are used within the fence with some net metering capability while the large arrays are used to send power back to the grid.

Wind turbines are also everywhere. These are of the 1.2 to 1.6 MW size and are in groups of 5 to 15 turbines feeding the grid. Since the terrain is so flat, the wind is pretty constant moving across the country. We saw literally 100's of wind machines in operation across Germany while we were there.

One would not think that biomass CHP is as prevalent as it is, but the use of biomass CHP with District Heating is a very efficient way to heat so the Germans are using that for producing power and then heating facilities and providing thermal for process. The plant that we saw while there was a 10 MW plant with district heating to a nearby industrial plant for thermal and also District Heating to large users within 3 to 5 miles.

What all this means to me is that we in the United States need to improve our view in order to keep up and get ahead. We have the technology, we just need the will and drive to make this happen to help our world in the long view.