The EEX Transparency Platform recently published data, which indicates that Germany has broken the record with generating 5.1 TWh (terawatt-hours) of solar energy power in the month of July.
The country has not only left behind some of the its biggest rivals, including Italy, Belgium, Check Republic and the U.S., but it also managed to beat its own record of 5 TWh of wind energy production from earlier in the year.
The number would not have been so striking if we didn’t know that Germany is by far one of the countries with the least number of sunny days per year. When compared to countries like the U.S. where the potential of generating electricity from solar is so much greater, and we look at the latest reported figures of 0.764 TWh for the month of May, we should really admit that Germany is way ahead in the renewable energy game.
Per capita, Germany generates almost double the solar energy when compared to the runner-up Italy, and more than triple the amount produced by the sunniest state of Arizona. The increase of 42% since last year is something to admire.
But the greatest thing in this whole story, is that most of the solar energy produced in Germany, comes from panels mounted on roof tops of houses and businesses. The growing popularity of solar panels in the country have also resulted in a huge drop in solar prices.
Let’s hope that these data will serve as an incentive to others. Germany managed to prove that there is no need of having Sahara-like areas to set records in renewable energy production, so no country has an excuse to postpone the implementation of policies and stimulate the clean energy market.
