Fox News explains why solar power works in Germany, but not here.

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by mini me

Ok, so I'll bite. Here in MI, there's no way in hell that solar energy would ever be economical. Why? There's not enough days / hours of sunlight per year to make solar power generation an economically viable energy source. Hell, we can go for a week or more with no sunny days in the winter. Just solid cloud cover.

Now, if that's the point that the Fox News person is attempting to make, albeit poorly stated, then that makes sense to me, just base on my experience here in MI. I've not attempted to Google and see if there's any info out there comparing average hours of sunshine per year by country. Maybe that would be a revealing exercise.

Did you look at the graphical representation of hours of sunlight at the bottom of the linked page? It compared the US to Germany (and Spain). From looking at the map, it looks like Michigan is among the lowest states in the US in terms of solar energy (ahead of Alaska, Washington and Oregon). Other states in Michigan's vicinity looked similar to Michigan. Must be those big ol' lakes up there causing all of that cloud cover.

Regards,

D-Ray