here are two articles the first describing solar use in Victoria as being around 1 percent

the second article describes solar use in Germany which is leading the world

my question is what percentage differences are there between Victoria and Germany

Gas-fired power use soars during heatwaves in SA and Victoria

The amount of energy produced by natural gas soared in South Australia and Victoria during recent heatwaves, when temperatures exceeded 40 degrees for five consecutive days.

Gas use in Victoria was up 48 per cent on the same time last year. In South Australia, gas-fired energy rose 8 per cent.

Research by consultancy EnergyQuest found that wind power contributed less than 5 per cent and solar panels less than 1 per cent to the increased demand.

more…

Germany broke world solar power generation record in July with 5.1 TWh, leaving U.S. in dust

Germany’s not a very sunny place, yet yet it leads the world in solar power, showing that you don’t have to be in the middle of the Sahara desert to generate lots of clean power from the sun. In July 2013, it set a new world record, producing 5.1 terawatt-hours, a mindbogglingly big number that leaves the U.S. far behind with its 0.764 TWh record for May 2013 (we don’t have data more recent than that). The only thing that comes close is other solar record by Germany, and Germany’s world wind power record of 5 TWh in January earlier this year.

more…

here is a wiki article on Solar power in Germany but the figures seem confusing

Photovoltaic in Germany

>Germany’s not a very sunny place

No. To put it into perspective, the whole of Germany is further from the equator than the southern tip of Tasmania.

morrie said:

>Germany’s not a very sunny place

No. To put it into perspective, the whole of Germany is further from the equator than the southern tip of Tasmania.

So in July they get nice long days with lots of sun.

Hmm, Australia’s photovoltaic capacity in April last year was 2.45 GW.

Germany’s in the year 2005 was 2.1 GW.

So Australia is about eight years behind. That’s not too bad. A major difference is that Germany has six dedicated large solar power plants.

The Rev Dodgson said:

morrie said:

>Germany’s not a very sunny place

No. To put it into perspective, the whole of Germany is further from the equator than the southern tip of Tasmania.

So in July they get nice long days with lots of sun.

In Germany, the Sun’s altitude is lower (closer to the horizon) compared to mainland Australia.
So the actual solar exposure reaching the Earth surface in Germany is lower than in Oz.

Germany has a median average daily solar exposure of around 10.6 MJ/m²
Australia’s daily median average is 19 MJ/m² (almost double)

*The Aussie map is for the year 2013 whereas the German map is taking data from 2001-2007

Thanks Aquila. I didn’t think that Germany could be getting more insolation than we do.
The north pole has nice long days in July too, but I doubt that it would be a great spot for pv panels. :)

friends had a holiday in germany a few months ago. couldn’t believe how many places had panels.

Aquila said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

morrie said:

>Germany’s not a very sunny place

No. To put it into perspective, the whole of Germany is further from the equator than the southern tip of Tasmania.

So in July they get nice long days with lots of sun.

In Germany, the Sun’s altitude is lower (closer to the horizon) compared to mainland Australia.
So the actual solar exposure reaching the Earth surface in Germany is lower than in Oz.

Germany has a median average daily solar exposure of around 10.6 MJ/m²
Australia’s daily median average is 19 MJ/m² (almost double)

*The Aussie map is for the year 2013 whereas the German map is taking data from 2001-2007

Interesting

and it doesnt take much imagination to work out we could have double of Germany’s solar output

maybe even more

Aquila said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

morrie said:

>Germany’s not a very sunny place

No. To put it into perspective, the whole of Germany is further from the equator than the southern tip of Tasmania.

So in July they get nice long days with lots of sun.

In Germany, the Sun’s altitude is lower (closer to the horizon) compared to mainland Australia.
So the actual solar exposure reaching the Earth surface in Germany is lower than in Oz.

Germany has a median average daily solar exposure of around 10.6 MJ/m²
Australia’s daily median average is 19 MJ/m² (almost double)

*The Aussie map is for the year 2013 whereas the German map is taking data from 2001-2007

It is a pity those two graphs use different metrics.

morrie said:

Thanks Aquila. I didn’t think that Germany could be getting more insolation than we do.
The north pole has nice long days in July too, but I doubt that it would be a great spot for pv panels. :)

yeah, that’s right, even with the longer days in Germany’s summer, there is a lower solar irradiation.

Aquila said:

Germany has a median average daily solar exposure of around 10.6 MJ/m²
Australia’s daily median average is 19 MJ/m² (almost double)

Yes, but in the winter they get bugger all, so in July they must get lots (especially in the South).

but with corporate interest in coal, oil and gas

many solar projects are shelved with only 1 percent solar contributing

it was extra natural gas that helped Vic get through the heat wave

CrazyNeutrino said:

Interesting

and it doesnt take much imagination to work out we could have double of Germany’s solar output

maybe even more

I think Germany subsidizes their solar industry quite heavily. However, they have a much better manufacturing sector than we do. Smaller country, logistics etc. are somewhat different. Four times the population.

Stealth said:

It is a pity those two graphs use different metrics.

I know, I had to convert the data myself

)

CrazyNeutrino said:

but with corporate interest in coal, oil and gas

many solar projects are shelved with only 1 percent solar contributing

it was extra natural gas that helped Vic get through the heat wave

Direct coupled solar air conditioning is an almost perfect match. Mine isn’t quite direct coupled, but I can run it on really hot sunny days.

Aquila said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Interesting

and it doesnt take much imagination to work out we could have double of Germany’s solar output

maybe even more

I think Germany subsidizes their solar industry quite heavily. However, they have a much better manufacturing sector than we do. Smaller country, logistics etc. are somewhat different. Four times the population.

They also import energy from Frances nukes.

German panels might achieve slightly higher efficiency due to the lower ambient tempertures.

Aquila said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Interesting

and it doesnt take much imagination to work out we could have double of Germany’s solar output

maybe even more

I think Germany subsidizes their solar industry quite heavily. However, they have a much better manufacturing sector than we do. Smaller country, logistics etc. are somewhat different. Four times the population.

Yep. I have done lots of business with Germany over the years and those factors have always been evident.
On the other hand, we can put black coal on their stockpiles cheaper than they can do digging up their own.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Aquila said:

Germany has a median average daily solar exposure of around 10.6 MJ/m²
Australia’s daily median average is 19 MJ/m² (almost double)

Yes, but in the winter they get bugger all, so in July they must get lots (especially in the South).

Yeah, but averaged out annually across both countries Australia can still produce a potentially higher yield per m² compared to Germany.

Stealth said:

German panels might achieve slightly higher efficiency due to the lower ambient tempertures.

That’s true, pv cell conversion efficiency is better when the cell surface is at a lower temperature.

morrie said:

Yep. I have done lots of business with Germany over the years and those factors have always been evident.
On the other hand, we can put black coal on their stockpiles cheaper than they can do digging up their own.

lol, yeah, we’ve become pretty good at digging up dirt and extracting raw material and slapping it onto big boats.

)

Aquila said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Aquila said:

Germany has a median average daily solar exposure of around 10.6 MJ/m²
Australia’s daily median average is 19 MJ/m² (almost double)

Yes, but in the winter they get bugger all, so in July they must get lots (especially in the South).

Yeah, but averaged out annually across both countries Australia can still produce a potentially higher yield per m² compared to Germany.

Not disputing that.

We also have a hell of a lot more m2/head.

*Aquila said:

morrie said:

Yep. I have done lots of business with Germany over the years and those factors have always been evident.
On the other hand, we can put black coal on their stockpiles cheaper than they can do digging up their own.

lol, yeah, we’ve become pretty good at digging up dirt and extracting raw material and slapping it onto big boats.

)

sets timer

The Rev Dodgson said:

Aquila said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Yes, but in the winter they get bugger all, so in July they must get lots (especially in the South).

Yeah, but averaged out annually across both countries Australia can still produce a potentially higher yield per m² compared to Germany.

Not disputing that.

We also have a hell of a lot more m2/head.

True that!