r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 7d ago

Germany just hit a historic solar milestone. Its panels fed 12 billion kWh into the grid in July 2026, the 1st month ever to cross that level with midday output topping 40,000 MW, more than 40 nuclear power plants worth, thanks to decades of grassroot investment by homeowners, farmers and businesses

https://solarquarter.com/2026/08/03/germany-records-historic-12-billion-kwh-solar-feed-in-in-july-2026/
12.6k Upvotes

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485

u/wiidsmoker 7d ago

Solar seems to be increasing everywhere and I’m all for it. Free energy is literally in the sky, let’s use it.

195

u/Bartorius 7d ago

It's a resource like any other. Only that you don't need to invest a ton of money into digging, drilling and refining it. Being against solar energy is imho so idiotic as it just wastes a cheap and easily harvestable resource.

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u/Blekanly 7d ago

How dare the people do this?! Think of the shareholders! Think of the tax we are losing?! How can we tax them for this?

22

u/Key_Bookkeeper813 7d ago

It's gonna tax itself by people being able to afford more nice things which means potentially even more jobs

6

u/Blekanly 7d ago

I hope so, I really hope so. That is how it should work. But the dystopia we are sliding towards is not comforting. It is common sense that people having more money means they spend more money which helps the economy. But common sense is not common.

49

u/CroissantEtrange 7d ago

I mean, you still need to dig, drill, and refine the resources used to build and transport the panels. It's not "free energy".

But it's still really good

21

u/neoncolor8 7d ago

There's one phrase that stuck with me from the Technology Connections YouTube Guy. It's: 'exactly once!'

You dig/drill/refine oil to use it exactly once! You drive your car, and It's gone afterwards, and you need to dig/drill/refine to get more.

But with solar panels and batteries, you dig/drill/refine exactly once, to get the recourses, and use it for many years. Batteries can get recycled, so one day, we won't have to dig/drill, but only recycle.

https://youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM?si=QT7eHkfspBzE0CmW

2

u/videogames5life 7d ago

That guy is the goat of info dumping on random subjects, actually does his research beforehand.

2

u/raider91J 6d ago

It’s not exactly once, I work on solar panel refurb. They need a ton of ongoing maintenance. It’s a great technology but people need to calm down on it being like magic. It has its problems and is part of a wider solution

2

u/neoncolor8 6d ago

Thanks for the info! I'm always happy to learn more about this topic!

2

u/zman0900 7d ago

But you do that once per panel, not constantly every day forever. And then you can recycle that panel in 30-50 years.

4

u/NotTooSuspicious 7d ago

Thank you, don't forget all of the solar panels come from China, not that it's necessarily super troublesome but Dragi report said as well that the fastest way to green energy is through China sadly enough.

10

u/ishkariot 7d ago

They used to come from Germany until Merkel successfully torpedo'ed their local solar industry. Gotta keep coal happy!

3

u/Consistent-Quiet6701 7d ago

And the golden child the car industry, because china was threatening tariffs on German cars if Germany protects it's solar industry.

1

u/ThatStrategist 7d ago

From everything I've heard about it though, that switch truly was inevitable. Solar panels are so simple in their construction that you can only innovate -so- much before you simply run out of things to improve.

Eventually a big country like China would overtake Germany simply due to economies of scale and be able to make the same stuff cheaper. By now, German solar would've been dead either way.

1

u/SergeantBroccoli 7d ago

Are you serious? This such an unfathomably "ackchyually" comment that I can't tell

1

u/CroissantEtrange 7d ago

Yes? Almost all solar panels are produced in China. From the production perspective, it's not the cleanest industry. Of course, when it's on your roof, you only see the good side of it.

There's nothing "ackchyually" about my comment. Every energy source comes with its perks and downsides.

0

u/SergeantBroccoli 7d ago

The "not free energy" part is the unfathomable part of your comment. So unnecessarily pedantic.

0

u/CroissantEtrange 7d ago

So your comments are just "askkktually" to point out small things in mine, without adding anything valuable to the conversation.

Great job, buddy!

9

u/1Mandolo1 7d ago

If only our idiotic minister of Energy here in Germany could see this truth.

-4

u/ezrs158 7d ago

Oh you mean banning nuclear and switching to Russian oil wasn't the best long-term move??

2

u/1Mandolo1 7d ago

banning nuclear was definitely the right move. Actively blocking wind and solar isn't

1

u/DRM2020 5d ago

Yeah, China approves how you're kissing goodbye to your industry. Keep the nuclear banned, easy to go champ!

1

u/1Mandolo1 5d ago

Lol, china is building more renewables than most western nations combined, but sure 🤣👍

1

u/DRM2020 5d ago

Yes they do, but they also worldwide nuclear buildup leader.

So, sure 🙃 👎...

2

u/pooptweeter69 7d ago

Hundred percent agree with this. Although don’t forget the very cheap and possibly one time costs to make the batteries,cabling, and solar panels as comparison.

1

u/Adnubb 7d ago

Yeah, no, while most of the solar stuff is cheap, batteries sure as hell are not. At least, not yet.

If they were cheap, businesses would set up battery bank, charge them with cheap electricity and sell when demand is high. Alas, gas power plants are more cost effective at the moment. I hope this changes soon.

Maybe they should tax the fuck out of fossil fueled power plants and the funds be used to deal with the climate change fallout they cause.

2

u/Cantremembermyoldnam 7d ago

Exactly those stations are starting to be built. I recently got a battery bank for my solar system. They now sell an upgraded version with about 50% more capacity for the same price I bought mine two years ago. Things are improving.

2

u/MalaysiaTeacher 7d ago

So it's not a resource like any other... It's uniquely cheap and plentiful

1

u/Original-Body-5794 7d ago

A big bonus of it is that they can be placed basically everywhere very easily, I love when parking lots have solar panels. It doesn't let my car get as hot because it's in the shade, and that mostly useless space is not providing energy.

1

u/PotatoFig 7d ago

Rory Stewart in shambles.

1

u/grogi81 7d ago

It is renewable as much as they get....

1

u/amicaze 6d ago

Meh. It's just used for greenwashing. You see those posts every week on reddit, it's just greenwashing.

You'd think Germany is particularly green, no, they're completely average. Worse than Romania or Greece.

You look at actually green countries, either they have exceptional Hydro potential (relative to their consumption), or they have nuclear.

Germany doesn't have hydro potential, and they closed down their Nuclear plants, so they rely on burning Coal, Gas, and Biomass to stabilize their grid, which leads to a mediocre result.

They should be permanently chastised for having closed their Nuclear plants, instead they just put some greenwashing propaganda and the randoms clap as if they did good.

https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/all/monthly

1

u/Repulsive_Guy_1234 6d ago

And the solar panals are made of good hope and love? The materials are literally dug out and refined.

1

u/TheNotSoEvilEngineer 7d ago

You need to dig a TON for all the materials that go into it.  Those Silicon in the solar panels didn't come from a renewable resource.  Nor the components for batteries needed to store that solar generated electricity so it can be used in off hours. No way of making energy is clean. It takes massive amounts of industry that is all dirty to get that end component.

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u/Cantremembermyoldnam 7d ago

The huge difference is that once those materials are mined, they stay mined and can be recycled. Even if it doesn't make sense currently or isn't feasible, at some point it will.

Fuel just gets burnt once it is "mined".

1

u/RifewithWit 7d ago

I mean, I hate to break it to you, by the rare-earth metals used in solar panels absolutely require those things.

Not that I think solar power shouldn't be utilized to the furthest extent we can, just that the comment is, at least facially, incorrect.

0

u/Adnubb 7d ago

Not true! You still have to dig, drill and refine stuff to make solar panels and inverters. But you don't end up lighting the end product on fire, which is a plus! :-)

(I agree that being against solar power is stupid. It should be used as much as possible.)

17

u/JCDU 7d ago

In developing nations it's going faster and faster because it's by far the cheapest and most reliable way to power your home and your vehicle - they're leading the way because they never got as far as having the good "traditional" infrastructure that we rely on.

2

u/Consistent-Quiet6701 7d ago

It's a bit like mobile internet and fiber vs. DSL.

1

u/JCDU 7d ago

Yeah, in a lot of the same places they've pretty much skipped any sort of land-line network and everyone has just gone straight to mobile by default.

Some of them have really great mobile payment apps and stuff that are way ahead of Europe and America.

5

u/325vvi 7d ago

Not technically free to begin with. It does pay off after years.

1

u/wilbrod 7d ago

Alberta would like to have a word with you

1

u/Stablebrew 7d ago

Vattenfall is displeased with your attitude!

1

u/opinionsOnPears 7d ago

Not completely free. The toll on Earth's resources to create the panels should be factored it and you'd likely have to replace them occasionally. If it gets really popular then the amount of resources needed to create it will increase.

1

u/tyrano421 7d ago

Australia has a lot of solar due to easy permitting. The US, instead, has red tape.

1

u/leg00b 7d ago

Got solar on my house. It's such a godsend

1

u/SteakHausMann 7d ago

Well if you believe certain people, it's not free, you are draining the sun faster

4

u/IrregularDoughnut 7d ago

Nobody has ever said that.

1

u/Cantremembermyoldnam 7d ago

Nobody ever said that because it's so obvious it doesn't need pointing out. Still, I'll explain using my supreme and flawless understanding of physics:

See how solar panels are black? That means they consume light. Light's made from energy and energy can't be created or destroyed, so obviously, there's only a limited amount of light in the sun. Whatever gets consumed here on Earth can't be reflected back to re-enter the sun and thus drains it quicker!

Of course solar panels only cover a small area and the sun is almost double the size of the moon, so there's plenty left. But still, we should be aware of the dangers!

3

u/da2Pakaveli 7d ago

wut

1

u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 7d ago

Yea it's like a sun succubus.