Solar Balconies Are Booming in Germany and You Can Plug in and Install Them Yourself

A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.

Solar panels are finding their way onto all sorts of surprising surfaces, and now Central Europeans are beginning to line their balcony rails with them; because why not?

To mark the 70th anniversary of the solar cell’s mainstream entry into society, data acquired by Euronews claims that 400,000 German households have already connected their verandas and balconies to solar panels.

New data shows at least 50,000 of the PV devices were added in the first quarter of 2024 alone.

Easy to install—such that many do it themselves, the technology makes every bit of sense as rooftop PV solar panels. In the Northern Hemisphere, during the winter months especially, the sun comes at such a shallow angle that panels on a balcony may even exceed the power generation of those mounted on a roof.

They won’t generate more power, because they’re plugged into smaller sockets, but they present less of a hazard than rooftop solar, and may not even require installation fees. They can also be installed where people may not have the requisite sunlight, the property access, or the structural strength to install rooftop panels.

Jan Osenberg, a policy advisor at the SolarPower Europe association, told Euronews that 200 megawatts is a rough estimate of how much electricity is generated by solar balconies, compared to 22 gigawatts from all of Germany’s rooftop solar panels.

The technology has been a boom in Germany’s strong solar culture. More power is generated by solar in Germany than any other country in Europe.

A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.

“Rooftop solar really has this empowering momentum that people who start to have a solar system, they start to track their electricity consumption, they start to feel themselves as being someone who is a frontrunner in the energy transition, someone who supports the energy transition and is already a part of it,” says Osenberg.

Some German states offer subsidies for a solar balcony kit, which pays for itself in electricity savings after around 3-5 years of its 20-year lifespan. However, at 24 kilograms—over 50 pounds—installation needs to be taken deadly seriously, as a panel falling three or four stories onto someone might be lights out.

Europe has been getting progressively more inventive with the placement of its solar panels. GNN has reported on solar power installations. Source: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/solar-balconies-are-booming-in-germany-and-you-can-plug-in-and-install-them-yourself/

Read More........ → April 27, 2024

Canada Agrees 200 Islands Belong to the Indigenous Haida Nation

Islands in the Haida Gwaii – CC 2.0. Province of BC

In a historic “first-of-its-kind” agreement the government of British Colombia has acknowledged the aboriginal ownership of 200 islands off the west coast of Canada.

The owners are the Haida nation, and rather than the Canadian government giving something to a First Nation, the agreement admits that the “Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai” or the “islands at the end of world,” always belonged to them, a subtle yet powerful difference in the wording of First Nations negotiating.

BC Premier David Eby called the treaty “long overdue” and once signed, will clear the way for half a million hectares (1.3 million acres) of land to be managed by the Haida.

Postal service, shipping lanes, school and community services, private property rights, and local government jurisdiction, will all be unaffected by the agreement, which will essentially outline that the Haida decide what to do with the 200 or so islands and islets.

“We could be facing each other in a courtroom, we could have been fighting each other for years and years, but we chose a different path,” said Minister of Indigenous Relations of BC, Murray Rankin at the signing ceremony, who added that it took creativity and courage to “create a better world for our children.”

Indeed, making the agreement outside the courts of the formal treaty process reflects a vastly different way of negotiating than has been the norm for Canada.

“This agreement won’t only raise all boats here on Haida Gwaii – increase opportunity and prosperity for the Haida people and for the whole community and for the whole province – but it will also be an example and another way for nations – not just in British Columbia, but right across Canada – to have their title recognized,” said Eby.In other words, by deciding this outside court, Eby and the province of BC hope to set a new standard for how such land title agreements are struck. Canada Agrees 200 Islands Belong to the Indigenous Haida Nation

Read More........ → April 26, 2024