Germany can now produce half its energy from solar

New data reveals that Germany broke a record at the start of June by generating half its energy from solar power, demonstrating the country's impressive renewable energy capabilities. Research from the Fraunhofer ISE research institute showed that German solar panels generated a record 24.24 GW of electricity between 1pm and 2pm on Friday, June 6th. And on Monday June 9th, a public holiday, solar power production peaked at 23.1 GW, which was 50.6 percent of total electricity demand.

Tobias Rothacher, an expert for renewable energies at Germany Trade & Invest, told The Local: “I think we could break a new record every two to three months now. We are installing more and more PVs [solar panels].”

Germany has had success with solar by encouraging citizens to install panels on their roof tops, rather than focussing on building large-scale solar farms. In fact, 90 percent of Germany's solar panels are on individuals' roofs.

Good weather has also helped solar power production this year, which has increased 34 percent in the first part of 2014.

With the current rate of production, Germany will need to invest in more energy storage technology to keep up.

In comparison, Australia has the potential to generate just 1.1 percent of its electrical energy from solar. The United States gets 0.2 percent of its energy from solar, according to 2011 data.

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