Germany's solar panels could power 25pc of Australia
11th Jul 2012
If all the solar panels in Germany were gathered up and placed in Australia, they could generate as much as a quarter of our country's energy needs - or at least that's what Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) believes.
During the first half of the year, 4.5 per cent of Germany's energy needs were met by solar power.
But how does this compare to our efforts? Well, over the past five years, BZE reveals that Australia has only met four per cent of its energy needs through renewables.
Since 2007, Germany's solar capacity has grown by 500 per cent, while its government has announced a 52-gigawatt goal for rooftop solar capacity over the next three to four years.
The upshot is that Australia clearly needs to do better - Germany is not the only standout performer, as the likes of China have also upped their game in the solar stakes.
Executive director of BZE Matthew Wright said: "We should set a target of 25 per cent of our power from rooftop solar panels. Surely sunny Australia can match cold, cloudy Germany.
"Our large-scale renewables target should be increased to at least 25 per cent by 2020, to drive the kind of wind power expansion we’ve already seen in South Australia across the nation."
The popularity of solar energy in Australia has already been proven, as the campaign group points to the success of Queensland's feed-in tariff.
Before the government rebate for solar power was slashed, as many as 1,000 solar power systems were being made every day, showing a real desire to go green.
This is fuelled not only by the prospect of saving money, but also helping the environment - both worthy causes, we're sure you will agree!
It seems that Australia needs to move over to the fast lane when it comes to solar, otherwise we risk falling even further behind.
Posted by Mike Peacock
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Solar Power