The story of a Ukrainian woman who defeated Putin without using a gun or a Javelin missile launcher is told to us in A recent post at TechCrunch . Her go-to weapon? Europe’s balconies are covered in solar panels.
I believed that we could help both homeowners and renters as well as other segments of the market. Energy prices are skyrocketing right now, and they won’t stop until they are stabilized and a variety of methods to produce our own clean energy are put into place, according to Karolina Attspodina, the creator of the business providing this service.
Natural gas is used in Europe to generate energy and for heating. Due to his ability to raise prices or restrict access to gas, Vladimir Putin has control over Europe because these services are important. Additionally, buying gas from Putin is a bad idea because it supports his conflict with Ukraine and raising imports of Russian gas results in skyrocketing prices. This gives the leaders of Europe few viable options.
In February 2022, WeDoSolar, a business that specializes in vertical solar power panels for balconies, was established (the month Russia invaded Ukraine). It asserts that it has already had thousands of orders for its vertical solar power panels, which are made to be mounted by anyone with no prior knowledge of solar or electrical power and come with weatherproof straps.
The 1 kilogram apiece lightweight panels plug into a conventional power socket and come with an insurance policy from their German maker. As solar is often utilized before regular grid electricity, the WeDoSolar Microinverter then delivers electricity into the home grid, enabling the solar panels to operate appliances before relying on regular grid power, according to the business.
According to the company, simply installing these panels in a home’s energy system reduces the amount of power required from the grid by 25%, resulting in lower utility costs as well as a reduction in the consumption of natural gas. Therefore, as more people use the system, Europe will require less gas from Putin and less money will go into Putin’s wallets. In 2021, the EU imported from Russia about 155 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas.
That makes up about 40% of the EU’s overall demand, with Germany being the most dependent at up to 65%. Therefore, cutting the amount of energy required by 25% may significantly lessen Putin’s power in the area.
The 8-panel set costs $1,299, but electric vehicle owners can rent it for free in exchange for CO2 credits. As required by German legislation, these are then merged and sold to oil companies. The company also offers employee benefit programs to major firms, which may result in staff members paying less for electricity while the employers receive CO2 certificates.
The company’s inverter also includes an app that lets the user observe what’s happening. You may view the system’s performance in real time as well as the amount of money and carbon emissions you have saved since the system was installed, as well as for the last year or current month.
Given how simple the system is to deploy and the benefits it offers, it shouldn’t be difficult for many Europeans to use it to their advantage and thwart Putin’s objectives.
Screenshot of the installation process from the WeDoSolars website is used as the featured image.
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