German solar plants set new goals for environmentalists worldwide

May 29, 2012 10:59 GMT  ·  By

It's no secret that when German people decide to do something, they don't just settle for average: if they're going to engage in some new activities, they have to make sure that they surpass all other nations and that pretty much everybody is quite jealous of their achievements.

Remaining true to its perfectionist nature, last week Germany succeeded in setting a new world record as far as solar electricity is concerned: its solar plants found themselves producing a staggering 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour, roughly the equivalent of 20 nuclear power stations working at full capacity.

Interestingly enough, Germany's decision to switch to more environmentally-friendly energy sources probably isn't a direct result of it suddenly becoming deeply concerned with the well-being of the planet; on the contrary, solar plants became popular amongst the citizens of this country after Japan experienced the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March, 2011.

Now, we are no experts in matters of running a country, but are going to go out on a limb and argue that Germany wasn't particularly at ease with the thought that something similar could happen on its territories.

According to official reports, out of a total of 17 German nuclear plants, 8 have already been shut down and those that still remain standing will face a similar fate by the year 2022.

Smartplanet.com claims that it is only a matter of time before most of Germany's energy will come from the sun, the wind or biomass fuels, which means that by the year 2020 the country will have successfully reduced its gas emissions by approximately 40%.

As well as this, the Chicago Tribune argues that, at the present moment, the amount of solar energy produced in Germany alone is roughly the same as the one produced worldwide.

To conclude, we can only express our most sincere hopes that the both the German government and the German people will find it in their hearts to help other countries develop their green industries in a similar manner, since it is quite obvious that they have a particular drive that other nations seem to lack.