Article

2023-02-06 Science & Technology

The Solar Power Problem(s) - Peter Zeihan

For solar power to make sense, there's one non-negotiable component...and yes, it's that bright, shiny thing in the sky - the sun. But just because your planet has a sun doesn't mean you should use solar power...

The best examples are places like Denver or SoCal, where the sun is out showing off most days of the year. Then you move on to places like New York, Toronto or Berlin - which have plenty of overcast days - and your case for using solar power goes out the window.

The point of all of this isn't to say that solar power can't be part of the energy solution, but there are still quite a few hoops we've got to jump through to get there.

Posted by DarthVader 2023-02-06 09:13|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 The Dark Side of Solar Power

Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-06 10:20|| 2023-02-06 10:20|| Front Page Top

#2 Solar power is most popular where it is heavily subsidized. Without taxpayers getting fleeced there is little real financial incentive to go solar for other than remote uses where power distribution is an issue.

Posted by Super Hose 2023-02-06 12:53|| 2023-02-06 12:53|| Front Page Top

#3 I was hammered for months, up until I told them I would pay cash rather than finance the design. Then the badgering stopped.

Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-06 13:39|| 2023-02-06 13:39|| Front Page Top

#4 Cant store solar (or wind) - not efficiently.

Posted by mossomo 2023-02-06 14:05|| 2023-02-06 14:05|| Front Page Top

#5 Passive solar engineering, starting with architecture matching the local microclimate, is useful. Solar water heaters and solar chimneys are a reasonable choice. Solar panels are as silly as the ones my neighbor, a retired art teacher and artist, had installed -- here in Tornado Alley Oklahoma...

Posted by magpie 2023-02-06 15:44|| 2023-02-06 15:44|| Front Page Top

#6 I had a great room on the western end of my house in PeeAve that had very large windows that caught all the afternoon sun. Before putting 3M reflective film on them and adding thermal honeycomb blind window treatments (planned for and installed just after the addition was finished,) it was essentially impossible to air condition it.

Yes, you can do a lot with passive measures.

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-02-06 16:01|| 2023-02-06 16:01|| Front Page Top

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