April 4th, 2013
After having an amazing journey in beautiful Scotland, I boarded a London flight to make the second half of my adventure in central Europe, a trip to Austria and Germany to meet old friends and see the state of solar in what many have titled the solar capital of the world. Germany outranks all other countries when it comes to solar production, largely due to very generous feed-in tariffs and other government backed solar incentives.
In Austria, renewable energy sources make up the majority of the small nation's power, but this is almost entirely from hydroelectricity, which provides about 55% of Austria's power generation. A smaller portion from wind and biomass make up the next biggest tiers of renewable power sources. Just another great reason out of many to visit this small yet gorgeous country.
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| Stunning views and cultural history of the beautiful city of Salzburg bring millions of tourists each year |
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| A Wind Farm North of Salzburg, Austria, provides power to the local region |
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| Hydroelectric power provides over 55% of Austria's electricity |
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Just a few minutes drive to the north will lead you into Germany, and the renewable landscape changes dramatically. We spent a sunny Sunday afternoon in Schoaramer visiting the local beer hall and having lunch.
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| Braustuberl Shoenraum in Bavaria Germany. The Beer Hall has been in operation for over 500 years |
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| A classic German meal, Wienerschnitzel, and a locally brewed wheat beer. |
But outside, everywhere you look there were solar rooftops in place. This is extremely common, especially in more rural towns and villages. I was impressed, inspired, and hopeful for the US all at the same time. If we were as progressive as Germany in using solar electricity, we would be way ahead of the game. It's time to step it up America!
I've put a few pictures up just to show you some of the homes and buildings we saw driving along the road. Every direction you looked, there was a home or building with solar panels. It's quite a sight to see!
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| It was quite common to see solar on several rooftops in a small village like this one. |
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| Making FULL use of your rooftop! |
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, as did my solar tour of Europe. I had a wonderful time, and thank all of my friends who helped me along my journey and made it such a wonderful time that I will never forget. I hope to be back again soon, and until then I hope to see these kind of inspiring images on rooftops in America! I'll leave you with one last fun image of a great example of what southern Germany and Austria is like. Thanks!
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| This is how they drink in Germany :) |
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