Moin Terry, I know very little about what kind of deals the German government made with the power companies, but there must have been something similar as to the tax incentives for the power companies. Apparently, there was a major consolidation of the utilities in general in the last 5 years or so, so I would imagine that they have a pretty powerful lobby, but they are at the same time intelligent enough politically to apply their influence in the background. The power company name that I see most often is called Eon.
As for the type of material that is in use for the panels, I'm not sure. I recall reading some time ago that Siemens was one of the major players in the solar panel industry here, and that they were offering panels that came with a 20 year warranty. A quick search would probably bring up a lot of hype on whatever technology is in production. I could write my engineer friend, and ask him what he decided to use. I am long overdue in writing to him anyway. I'll let you know what he says. Knuke Am Freitag, 13. Mai 2005 17:46 schrieb Terry Blanton: > Yes, Germany is mentioned in the first reference. I don't know how it > works there; however, in WA, the power companies are given tax incentives > for their cooperation. > > Generally, do the Germans use crystalline or amorphous? > > http://solar.calvin.edu/education/comparison.php
