The monthly solar power generation record has been shattered in Germany, again. The country measured over 5.1 terawatt hours (TWh) of solar power in July, according to data gathered by the EEX (Energy) Transparency Platform. It’s an impressive result, considering Germany gets less than half the sun available in some sunnier parts of the world.
The amount of electricity generated from solar surpassed the record amount generated from wind turbines in Germany, and as Zachary Shahan from Cleantechnica points out, far outpaces the amount of solar power generated in the United States. As an indication of the current difference in capacity, the United States produced 0.764 TWh of electricity from solar in May, which is the most recent month of data.
Germany currently has a lot more solar power capacity installed than any other country in the world, despite the distinct lack of sun compared to many others. By the end of last year, Germany had 400 MW of solar power capacity per million people, which is a lot more than Italy in second place with 267 MW per million people.
Further, most of Germany’s solar power capacity is in the form of rooftop solar systems installed on homes and business. In fact, as we’ve reported before, 51% of Germany’s renewable energy is owned by citizens. In my opinion, that is a very good situation for the future, and a very different one from the centralized energy situation still in existence in much of the world.
Image CC licensed by Tim Fuller: Rooftop solar installation in Germany.
Via Cleantechnica
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