Germany has spent a fortune on windfarms, solar cell arrays, and other “Green” energy sources. It has also announced its intention to shut down its nuclear power plants. yet, I don’t see that these alternative sources are anywhere near the level of replacing Germany’s main power source (coal fired thermal plants).
So I have a few questions for German dopers:
-is it likely that the government will alter its stance on nuclear?
-the energy produced from solar/wind is expensive-is the subsidy of this becoming onerous to German rate payers?
-how does the German Government deal with the enormous “sunk” costs of the “Green Energy” investments?
Not sure about Germany, but a decade-or-so ago Spain spent billions in an effort to be the “greenest” European country in terms of energy production (PV solar plants,etc.). Wish I had a cite, but I read somewhere that it did not turn out well.
You may find this article from a few months ago interesting:
Germany and Spain Move to Curb Green-Energy Supports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323478004578304181995426900.html
A few relevant quotes for those that don’t want to read the entire article: