Solar Balconies Take Europe By Storm by Lewin Day
In Germany in particular, small solar installs have become quite popular, and the country has become a hotbed for so-called “balcony” solar installations. These involve simple setups of one or two solar panels which are designed to be easily mounted on a balcony or other outdoor area of a home, rather than permanently installed on a rooftop.
They come with small inverters to convert the DC output of the solar panels into AC power, which plug straight into an existing home power socket. This do-it-yourself install method eliminates the need for hiring an electrician, further improving the affordability of the system. The inverters used with these systems include anti-islanding protection so that the solar system does not power any circuits if the grid has been deenergized for service or repair.
Costs around 250 euros for the full 800W set. Seems fun.
Once Trump tried to steal Greenland, it became apparent that the downsides of the dollar far outweigh its upsides. Last month, Christine Lagarde (president of the European Central Bank) made a public announcement on a radio show that Europe "urgently" needed to build its own payment system to avoid the American payment duopoly, Visa/Mastercard
Austria's Ministry of Economy Has Migrated To a Nextcloud Platform In Shift Away From US Tech
Even before Azure had a global failure this week, Austria's Ministry of Economy had taken a decisive step toward digital sovereignty. The Ministry achieved this status by migrating 1,200 employees to a Nextcloud-based cloud and collaboration platform hosted on Austrian-based infrastructure. This shift away from proprietary, foreign-owned cloud services, such as Microsoft 365, to an open-source, European-based cloud service aligns with a growing trend among European governments and agencies. They want control over sensitive data and to declare their independence from US-based tech providers.
This makes sense. DF wrote about a similar move for ICJ. Europe does need to build these capabilities though. There is so much entrenchment though. And so much money on the table for MSFT and others to not do anything.
Europe's share of global economic output has fallen from 33% to 23% since 2005 while its space launch capacity has nearly collapsed, launching just four rockets this year compared to over 100 for the United States and 40 for China.
Sweden has quietly spurred economic growth by cutting back its welfare state—tightening government spending, revamping the pension system and slashing corporate and personal tax rates. Per capita incomes are now climbing, and the country has seen a burst of entrepreneurship. Sweden even moved ahead of the U.S. in the number of billionaires per capita, thanks to a thriving tech startup scene and a video-game industry that has produced hits such as Minecraft and Candy Crush.