Green Energy Projects Making a Splash in Germany

[RunInRed 16,497]

This is how you do it folks (notice the lack of "drill drill drill")....

FREIBURG, Germany — Tucked away in Germany's southwest corner lies the country's throughly modern "environmental capital" of Freiburg, where residents are embracing a number of green energy projects that may soon be running in the United States.

Freiburg is abandoning fossil fuels for small hydroelectric dams and hi-tech wind turbines. A quaint and historic town, much of its landscape is now dominated by solar panels, which top everything from its highways to its city hall.

“There are more renewables here than we know what to do with,” said Joseph Pesch, a resident and proponent of the projects.

Freiburg gets a lot of sun, which aids the program — and so do German laws engineered to promote green power. Citizens who generate electricity using solar panels, for instance, get reimbursed by the government for the energy they feed into the electric grid.

Those laws have encouraged the use and development of green technology and jobs, making Germany the world leader in solar and wind power. Some 15 percent of all power in Germany is green, and the government hopes to double that figure in the near future.

That output could increase the country’s energy independence, which is just what the government is intending.

“We can either pay Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, or we can pay our own energy companies here,” said Martin Schoepe, an official at Germany’s Ministry for the Environment. “I’d opt for the latter.”

But could these plans work in the U.S.?

America currently draws just a small amount of its energy from renewable sources, but it gets far more sun and wind than Germany.

And much of the technology that’s being used to great effect in Germany was developed in the U.S. With laws similar to Germany’s now being considered in America, it might be just a matter of time before the projects hit home too.

“I very much see this working in America,” said Rian van Staden, principal consultant of the environmental energy firm Intelligent Renewable Energy. “America is one of the most exciting renewable markets.”

Still, there are some caveats. Freiburgers have found that start-up costs can be high, and rules and regulations can get heavy-handed. Even the eco-committed have differences, and some locals knocked the look of the white wind turbines in Germany’s Black Forest.

Yet residents and visitors are reaping the benefits of the programs, enjoying cheap utility costs in their energy-conserving homes.

“Part of the reason we came here was the environmental friendliness of the place,” said

David Benson, a British citizen who lives in Freiburg with his German wife and two sons.

And as those projects gain traction in the U.S., they are benefits Americans could soon be enjoying too.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,382322,00.html

[BamaGrad03 0]

Yeah, because Germany has a vast collection of oil reserves they are foregoing in lieu of these alternatives

[TitanTiger 20,522]

Yeah, because Germany has a vast collection of oil reserves they are foregoing in lieu of these alternatives

Though I'd love to see us go to renewable, cleaner energy, BG has a point. Germany had two choices: 1) buy all their energy from places like the Middle East or 2) use solar, wind and hydroelectric energy (with generous government help) so they can produce their own. The US has other options. We have vast amounts of natural gas, oil and coal for instance. On top of that, we have a much more far flung population spread over a vastly larger area. Not quite as simple as supplying power to a small German hamlet.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Also consider the fact that Germany uses a lot of nuclear. Surprisingly, all the eco-democrats want us to be like Europe, in every way except that.

[RunInRed 16,497]

You guys are ridiculous and it just baffles me how you want to find any and every reason why we should not pursue renewables.

As for nuclear, I've gone on record numerous times saying I have no problem with it as part of the energy mix as long as we can 1) find a way to safely dispose of the waste (where are you going to put it?) and 2) operate it in a secure and safe environment.

[TitanTiger 20,522]

You guys are ridiculous and it just baffles me how you want to find any and every reason why we should not pursue renewables.

Pursue? Sure. Put forth ridiculous time tables at huge cost to our economy (all while China and India continue to grow like crazy with cheap energy) while sitting on decades or even hundreds of years worth of cheap energy that we can use and improve and develop cleaner ways to use it? Not so much. Plus, renewables aren't a silver bullet. Solar tech doesn't produce that much energy compared to the amount of space you need for the panels. They're talking about putting solar panels on the next Prius. How much energy will it give the car? Enough to charge the batteries with less need for the gas engine? Enough to make pluging it in unnecessary? Enough to make it run all electric? No. It will give the car enough juice to run the air conditioner. That's it. Wind power has similar issues. Wind farms are unsightly to many people and they can wreak havoc on the local bird population. And not every part of the country gets enough wind to use it.

I have no problem with moving toward things where they can make sense. But to just abandon the natural resources we have in oil, natural gas and coal seems nuts to me.

As for nuclear, I've gone on record numerous times saying I have no problem with it as part of the energy mix as long as we can 1) find a way to safely dispose of the waste (where are you going to put it?) and 2) operate it in a secure and safe environment.

How does Europe manage to do it? Are they just storing it in the streets and having meltdowns and leaks left and right?

[tiger88 934]

You have to wonder if rir is mentally challenged on the whole drill drill drill thing. Either he can't comprehend what people are saying to him or he gets his jollies trying to impose other peoples viewpoints on them in order to make himself look better. Either way the dude is irrational on this issue.

[MDM4AU 336]

You have to wonder if rir is mentally challenged on the whole drill drill drill thing. Either he can't comprehend what people are saying to him or he gets his jollies trying to impose other peoples viewpoints on them in order to make himself look better. Either way the dude is irrational on this issue.

I read the first line of his post and thought almost the very same thing.

[TitanTiger 20,522]

Don't get me wrong. I think we've done a shoddy job of investing in research and development of alternative and renewable energy and we need to step it up in that area. But in the meantime, we also need to take advantage of the abundant resources we have that are able to be used in a cost effective way now. That means using our vast coal resources and funding clean coal technology for instance. We are the Saudi Arabia of coal. Let's use that advantage now and continue to develop even cleaner, natural and renewable energy sources so that one day they can replace fossil fuels in a way that is sustainable from a consumer cost standpoint.

[RunInRed 16,497]

Clean coal? Yes.

Drilling? No.

http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/images...icas_energy.pdf

[BamaGrad03 0]

There are so many problems with that article it's not even funny. First let's talk about the leases:

MANY of the leases are worthless because seismic studies have shown there is little or no oil there.

Secondly, MANY of the leases are not drillable because they are being contested in courts in San Fran by the eco crazies. (Including nearly ALL the leases in Alaska)

Finally, it tries to make the correlation that leases increase, yet gas prices haven't gone down...COMPLETELY ignoring the reason why gas prices have gone up:speculation, weak dollar, and rampant consumption increases in emerging markets.

You can't argue with the fact that increasing supply brings down price. It's inarguable.

[RunInRed 16,497]

Your myopic view, of course dismisses the other side of the oil equation (demand) and not surprising whatsoever, you also conveniently excuse the fact that 82% of offshore oil is already available for drilling by pointing to "eco crazies in cali who are contesting leases" riiiight

[BamaGrad03 0]

Your myopic view, of course dismisses the other side of the oil equation (demand) and not surprising whatsoever, you also conveniently excuse the fact that 82% of offshore oil is already available for drilling by pointing to "eco crazies in cali who are contesting leases" riiiight

Demand is a huge part of it. Demand in India and China are a HUUUUUGE contributing factor to our current costs. Not congress, not the president...not global warming...not due to reviews of the latest batman movie.

[Tiger Al 0]

I have a question to those who advocate our drilling our way to energy independence. Exactly how much oil do you think we are talking about because it sounds like you really believe that if not for the envirowhackos, we'd be another Saudi Arabia. So, how much oil do you think we have?

[BamaGrad03 0]

I have a question to those who advocate our drilling our way to energy independence. Exactly how much oil do you think we are talking about because it sounds like you really believe that if not for the envirowhackos, we'd be another Saudi Arabia. So, how much oil do you think we have?

I think if the oil companies are willing to invest billions of dollars...there's enough oil to make it worth our time.

[Tiger Al 0]

I have a question to those who advocate our drilling our way to energy independence. Exactly how much oil do you think we are talking about because it sounds like you really believe that if not for the envirowhackos, we'd be another Saudi Arabia. So, how much oil do you think we have?

I think if the oil companies are willing to invest billions of dollars...there's enough oil to make it worth our time.

You didn't really answer my question. The info is available. How much oil do you think we have?

[CCTAU 3,351]

I have a question to those who advocate our drilling our way to energy independence. Exactly how much oil do you think we are talking about because it sounds like you really believe that if not for the envirowhackos, we'd be another Saudi Arabia. So, how much oil do you think we have?

I think if the oil companies are willing to invest billions of dollars...there's enough oil to make it worth our time.

You didn't really answer my question. The info is available. How much oil do you think we have?

The info is NOT there. There is a guestimate that we have enough oil underground to supply ALL of our oil for 20 years. 20 years is plenty of time to find and implement a new "plausible" energy source.

If you align yourself with RiR on this in any way, it speaks volumes to your sanity.

[TitanTiger 20,522]

This was a quick and dirty search.

This article suggests ANWR alone holds enough to supply 5-10% of US consumption (as much as 16 billion barrels) for the next 20 to 30 years. By comparison, Prudhoe Bay had about 13 billion and we’ve been tapping that for 28 years.

http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/conte...ontent/2354.htm

This article says there’s another potential of 60 billion barrels off the coast of Louisiana:

http://www.newtechspy.com/articles06/oildiscovery.html

There’s another 11 billion barrels off the Pacific coast, plus 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas:

http://www.anwr.org/features/akeval.htm

This article indicates there are 18 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in off-limits areas of the Continental shelf off Florida’s coast. But the studies are really old (about 40 years) and the technology for finding reserves is much better now. Problem is, drilling opponents won’t allow new studies to be done because they see it as a slippery slope leading to drilling:

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/07/f...l_and_ga_1.html

Of course, our oil shale deposits dwarf all of the above. It’s estimated we have 2.5 trillion barrels available in oil shale:

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/18986/1066/1/1/

Not counting the oil shale, that's about 105 billion barrels of oil and 95 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

If we could get cracking on half of that I think you'd see a decent adjustment in the price of oil.

[RunInRed 16,497]

These oil companies are going to look beyond foolish if they make these large investments when an alternative surfaces in the next 8-10 years. Ultimately, they will end up with a product that has very little demand. I repeat, by and large, we will not be on traditional fossil fuels by 2020 and every one - including the oil companies - knows it. Drill drill drill is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction from ignorant consumers who think there is an "instant" solution to $4/gallon gas.

[Tigermike 3,063]

These oil companies are going to look beyond foolish if they make these large investments when an alternative surfaces in the next 8-10 years.

You can guarantee that? In the mean time what happens to the world economy? What happens to all the folks not living with their parents and driving the little Toyota hybrid that Dad bought?

Ultimately, they will end up with a product that has very little demand.

Tell us O Wise One when will that "ultimately" be?

Drill drill drill is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction from ignorant consumers who think there is an "instant" solution to $4/gallon gas.

Typical response from an Obamaphile.

To make it plain, so plain even you can understand. Your obstinate stance on this entire issue has been the only ignorant thing we have seen.

[DKW 86 7,450]

You guys are ridiculous and it just baffles me how you want to find any and every reason why we should not pursue renewables.

Gore got 'renewables' and his energy use went up 11%

As for nuclear, I've gone on record numerous times saying I have no problem with it as part of the energy mix as long as we can 1) find a way to safely dispose of the waste (where are you going to put it?) and 2) operate it in a secure and safe environment.

Carter killed that for everyone.

[RunInRed 16,497]

How does Europe manage to do it? Are they just storing it in the streets and having meltdowns and leaks left and right?

They store/bury the waste on site - no? Hmmm...

[autigeremt 6,719]

You guys are ridiculous and it just baffles me how you want to find any and every reason why we should not pursue renewables.

As for nuclear, I've gone on record numerous times saying I have no problem with it as part of the energy mix as long as we can 1) find a way to safely dispose of the waste (where are you going to put it?) and 2) operate it in a secure and safe environment.

I believe you are the ridiculous one here, run. Nothing personal, but you cannot compare Germany to us in regards to how they handle their energy issues.

You can't have it your way and only your way, Run. It's not realistic.

COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY is the best way for America!

[MDM4AU 336]

You guys are ridiculous and it just baffles me how you want to find any and every reason why we should not pursue renewables.

As for nuclear, I've gone on record numerous times saying I have no problem with it as part of the energy mix as long as we can 1) find a way to safely dispose of the waste (where are you going to put it?) and 2) operate it in a secure and safe environment.

I believe you are the ridiculous one here, run. Nothing personal, but you cannot compare Germany to us in regards to how they handle their energy issues.

You can't have it your way and only your way, Run. It's not realistic.

COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY is the best way for America!

By comprehensive you mean drill, drill, drill. I can't understand why you want to drill, drill, drill. There are all sorts of alternatives on the horizon and you want to drill, drill, drill. Why is your only idea to drill, drill, drill?

[autigeremt 6,719]

We must drill, drill, drill..........nuke, nuke, nuke,.......wind, wind, wind,.......geo, geo, geo,........sun, sun, sun,......

ALTERNATIVES with various options.