Germany's Solar Panel Industry, Once a Leader, Is Getting Squeezed

Re:Germany's Solar Panel Industry, Once a Leader, Is Getting... by cedilla on Monday March 25, 2024 @10:20AM (#39816682)

You have the causation exactly backwards. Most of Germany's heavy industry disappeared or went offshore since the 1970s, and that's why we don't produce nearly as much energy.

This process predates both the green energy movement and the nuclear power exit. Steel and aluminium manufacturing just needed more power than dozens of buildings filled with office workers.

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Re:Germany's Solar Panel Industry, Once a Leader, Is Getting... by kennethwolters on Monday March 25, 2024 @10:40AM (#39816919)

The US deindustrialised more intensely than Germany (think of rust belt), yet it seems energy production almost doubled since then [0]. I think energy production is more a function of the economy than of industrialisation.

And in the special case of Germany, the relatively small amount of industry that remained domestic kept Germany relevant globally. If Germany looses that, it becomes a fully service-based economy which the anglo-states are much better at (think finance, IT).

[0] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/

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