Solar panels could destroy U.S. utilities, according to U.S. utilities

[green for victory]

95. Germany has managed to figure it out. If we can't, maybe we could hire a few Germans

Solar power in Germany

Germany is the world's top photovoltaics (PV) installer, with a solar PV capacity as of December 2012 of more than 32.3 gigawatts (GW).[2] [3] The German new solar PV installations increased by about 7.6 GW in 2012, and solar PV provided 18 TWh (billion kilowatt-hours) of electricity in 2011, about 3% of total electricity.[4] Some market analysts expect this could reach 25 percent by 2050.[5] Germany has a goal of producing 35% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and 100% by 2050.[6]

Germany set a world record for solar power production with 22 GW produced at midday on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 May 2012. This was a third of peak electricity needs on Friday and almost half on Saturday.[15]

A feed-in tariff is the most effective means of developing solar power.[16] It is the same as a power purchase agreement, but is at a much higher rate. As the industry matures, it is reduced and becomes the same as a power purchase agreement. A feed-in tariff allows investors a guaranteed return on investment - a requirement for development. A primary difference between a tax credit and a feed-in tariff is that the cost is born the year of installation with a tax credit, and is spread out over many years with a feed-in tariff. In both cases the incentive cost is distributed over all consumers. This means that the initial cost is very low for a feed-in tariff and very high for a tax credit. In both cases the learning curve reduces the cost of installation, but is not a large contribution to growth, as grid parity is still always reached

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Germany