direstraits posted:Stanky posted:I believe the Brookings Institution would disagree:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog...wind-or-solar-power/
I believe Germany is in the process of leveling several old villages dating to medieval times to get to the brown coal underneath those villages because solar and wind power have been a complete bust at suppling a reliable base load; even when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, the coal plants are churning out plant food. The sun doesn't shine at night and until someone couples a gigantic fan to a perpetual motion machine, wind power will be intermittent. Unless one has a lot of cheap land that can be inundated for hydropower, there is no way to supplant fossil or fission power yet.
The Germans have done this for most of the latter part of the 20th century. Buildings with historic significance are either relocated, or dug around (filled in later). They also import US coal as its cleaner burning.
"Germany has been a forerunner in the promotion of renewable energy over the last decade with the outspoken objective to achieve a share of renewable energy in gross power production of 35% by 2020 and 80% by 2050."
Over the last ten years the share of renewable energy in Germany's gross power production has increased from around 11% in 2006 to ca. 32% in 2015 - with rapid expansions especially in wind power, photoboltaic, and biomass."
Energy Journal. 2017 Special Issue 1, Vol. 38, p189-209. 21p.
Germany is making excellent progress towards their goal of 35% of electricity production from renewable sources by 2020.