https://globalsolaratlas.info/map?c=44.933135,-144.991617,3
If Germany can do this much solar, than New England is going to have a much much easier go of it.
And why isn't there far more solar in Florida, when solar is such a cheap source of electricity for running all that AC? Because of regulatory capture by utilities and fossil fuel interests.
One reason might be that Florida likely experiences much more destructive storms on a regular basis. Germany doesn't. Texas and California (the US leaders) also have more protected land area.
The economic calculations look different if you have to factor in the relatively common risk of a hurricane wiping out your entire capital investment every few years.
That being said, Florida is recently surging in solar deployment. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/florida-is-now-ad...
Texas and Florida are actually great canaries to judge whether wind and solar are actually becoming economically viable. You know that they don't have the politics that would artificially subsidize and try to force them to happen. Like you suggest, if anything, they try to resist. Texas is the renewable energy leader in the US purely because it makes $en$e.
https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/what-happens-to-solar-pane...
Glad to see the surge in Florida, it's long overdue!
PS I’ve now seen multiple commenters explaining that solar in Florida is rare because of hurricane risk. This makes me wonder if some PR firm is circulating this as a talking point.
You can even tie this back to hurricane season if you wish (since you brought it up)-- given the high winds can cause downed power lines, even when a storm has been downgraded below hurricane, you really don't want energized lines from solar while repairs are ongoing. And given Florida's hurricane frequency outlier status in the US, they may want more rather than less of it. One way to keep people honest about this is liablity insurance. Now it's your job to keep it repaired and the insurer's job to inspect it, since they're on the hook. And if someone is injured as a result of your culpability, neither they nor you are screwed.
But sure, the energy company probably isn't happy about solar subsidies either.
There's lots more to do. There are certainly things to complain about (c.f. Florida regulatory capture, something I would believe but know nothing about). But the US isn't really "behind".
Northernmost most point in the continental US is about on the same latitude as as the southern most parts of Germany.
In much of Europe solar is pretty much useless during winter
So coupling AC with PV seems like a no brainer it doesn’t work that well when you really want to blast that AC full power because panels get too hot from the outside temperature.
Is that significant enough to matter? How much does it lose?
Edit: here it is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38688116
Germany got around all these obstacles, but if the state and utilities are in the way, it's hard for individuals to make the move to solar.
Y’all always like to spout regulator capture but when I go look at the data it does not seem to back it up.
2021 stats Florida is the second largest generator. And third largest in solar.
Natty gas dominates their generation mix but I wonder if it’s more than just the blanket complaint regulatory capture. Florida is pretty unique as a state, lots of wetlands, is this suitable for solar? Perhaps for the electric companies there on a cost per acre basis it’s easier to build out natty plants? It would make some sense because I don’t think Florida has as much accessible land as other states do.