cold, snowy Germany goes solar, California does not

[Lawrence]

There was an interesting article today in Wired News about the "explosive" growth of solar use in Germany. Stuff
like this reminds me of how much patterns of energy use can be shaped by government policy. The article is at this
link and an excerpt of the first 4 paragraphs is below.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,45056,00.html

=========================
Germany Embraces the Sun
By Reiner Gaertner
2:00 a.m. July 9, 2001 PDT

 FREIBURG, Germany -- Germany is not necessarily known as the sunniest spot in Europe. But nowhere else do so many
people climb on their roofs to install solar panels.

Since the introduction of the Renewable Energies Laws (EEG) in April last year, Germany has been experiencing a
remarkable boom in solar energy.

"When my cab driver gives me a lecture about solar technologies, I know I am back home," raved Rian van Staden,
executive director of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) about Freiburg, the sunniest city in Germany
and host to the InterSolar conference July 6-8.

The little university town in southwest Germany, about 40 miles away from the French and Swiss borders, is
Germany's "Solar Valley."