Solar could power world using only 1% of land

Started by Fluffhead, March 26, 2013, 12:52:28 PM

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GalacticBusDriver

Quote from: "Plu"I'm actually more worried about if we even have enough materials to build that many solar panels. All the money in the world won't help when you simply don't have enough raw materials on the surface of the planet to complete the project, and for the time being solar panels require enough rare materials that we probably cannot build that many.
We don't really have to build that many. We need to build solar collectors that can sit at the center of mirror arrays and take advantage of the focused sunlight. Solar collectors may be expensive and need rare or exotic materials but mirrors are cheap and require no rare or exotic materials.
"We should admire Prometheus, not Zues...Job, not Jehovah. Becoming a god, or godlike being, is selling out to the enemy. From the Greeks to the Norse to the Garden of Eden, gods are capricious assholes with impulse control problems. Joining their ranks would be a step down."

From "Radiant" by James Alan Gardner

SvZurich

Plus they could beam the collected energy down via tight microwave beams safely to collecting stations on the ground that distribute the energy.  Microwave beams can go straight through clouds with limited loss.
Kimberly (HSBUH) aka Baroness Sylvia endorses the Meadow Party's Bill N' Opus for the 2024 Presidential election! Or a Sanders/Warren ticket.

_Xenu_

Quote from: "SvZurich"Plus they could beam the collected energy down via tight microwave beams safely to collecting stations on the ground that distribute the energy.  Microwave beams can go straight through clouds with limited loss.
You mean by actually building the solar panels on the moon instead? Wouldn't that cause some problems due to intermittent access?
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SvZurich

Satellites, you silly goose.  Orbital collectors in a geostationary orbit that convert the solar energy into tight microwave beams broadcast to stations below.  You can set up mirrors to work around night time and lunar obstruction.
Kimberly (HSBUH) aka Baroness Sylvia endorses the Meadow Party's Bill N' Opus for the 2024 Presidential election! Or a Sanders/Warren ticket.

_Xenu_

Quote from: "SvZurich"Satellites, you silly goose.  Orbital collectors in a geostationary orbit that convert the solar energy into tight microwave beams broadcast to stations below.  You can set up mirrors to work around night time and lunar obstruction.
Hey! I never claimed to be a genius a this stuff.  :oops:
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baronvonrort

Quote from: "Plu"
QuoteSolar panels on the roofs of every building, for instance, is a lot more realistic than "1.5 million square kilometers of solar panels", which makes it sound scary and impossible.

Solar panels are very location dependant. Especially if you want good output for them. Many buildings don't get enough sun, and many whole countries don't either. That's why we put them in the desert.


I am not a fan of solar farms in the middle of nowhere, there are transmission losses along with the need for substations and expensive high voltage lines.

By putting solar panels on roofs it can then be fed into an inverter to give you 110-240v and any excess unused electricity can be fed back into the grid.
This method works better you dont need to find land, the owner can buy his own panels and get paid by the power companies for putting electricity into the grid usually at the same rate you buy it (we do this in Australia), there is no need to build more substations or need for high voltage power lines, the transmission losses are far less this way.

I have had BP Solar panels since 1994 they are still going strong,when they get really old they dont stop working they might put out 80w instead of 100w per panel after about 25 years.
Sometimes i have washed the panels yet the rain does a pretty gob job of that so in my case it has been almost install and forget.

Roofs that are in the shade of trees and other buildings might not be suitable, in this part of the world a north facing roof is best so if you are thinking of the future when buying a house then check the orientation of the sun.

In Australia we get plenty of sunshine and above average wind, the cost of solar has dropped to $1 per watt which is down from the $5-6 pew watt i paid.

I think windpower could be a better alternative to solar it is the second cheapest behind hydro electric for power.
Australia has above average windspeed which will keep one of these ticking over long after the sun has gone down.
//http://www.solarenergyalliance.com/Skystream.htm

In Australia you can be self sufficient for power if you buy your own panels, if you buy more than you need then you can even get paid for selling electricity back to the power companies.

Rin Hato

Why don't we just use all of the different sources? Wind farms, solar arrays, wave and tidal energy, geothermal stations and hydro-electric stations combined should be pretty worthwhile.

Where I am, they could even put solar panels on the wind turbines themselves, seeing as they're put on the tops of hills.
Obieru kono te no naka niwa taorareta hana no yuuki.

SilentFutility

Quote from: "baronvonrort"In Australia you can be self sufficient for power if you buy your own panels, if you buy more than you need then you can even get paid for selling electricity back to the power companies.
You can in Germany too. My parents have solar panels on the roof but they don't generate enough electricity for that; it just reduces the bill. We don't get quite as much sun as Australia though.

Quote from: "Rin Hato"Why don't we just use all of the different sources? Wind farms, solar arrays, wave and tidal energy, geothermal stations and hydro-electric stations combined should be pretty worthwhile.

Where I am, they could even put solar panels on the wind turbines themselves, seeing as they're put on the tops of hills.
Because the cost to return ratio for them is usually quite bad unless they are in an incredibly suitable location.

Rin Hato

Put them in a suitable location then?

Problem solved.
Obieru kono te no naka niwa taorareta hana no yuuki.

GurrenLagann

Like I said, if we actually manage commercial nuclear fusion by the projected year of 2050, solar power will be rendered completely unnecessary and superseded (Dyson containment notwithstanding).
Which means that to me the offer of certainty, the offer of complete security, the offer of an impermeable faith that can\'t give way, is the offer of something not worth having.
[...]
Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty & wisdom, will come to you that way.
-Christopher Hitchens

baronvonrort

Quote from: "GurrenLagann"Like I said, if we actually manage commercial nuclear fusion by the projected year of 2050, solar power will be rendered completely unnecessary and superseded (Dyson containment notwithstanding).

Power companies have been moving away from nuclear for many reasons like compliance issues not being waived like they were in the past along with the fact it is more expensive.
If the shit does hit the fan like Chernobyl or Fukishima then the power companies are only limited to the first $400 million for cleanup then the taxpayers foot the bill.

We see rogue nuclear states like North Korea who used the west for technical knowledge under a signed agreement (NPT) they would not produce nuclear weapons and the same thing is happening with Iran who have not withdrawn from these treaties like North Korea has.These countries signed an agreement saying they would not produce nuclear weapons as a condition of being helped with nuclear technology.
Having nuclear weapons produced is  an unwanted consequence of helping some countries with nuclear power.

The consequences of failure should be considered with all power sources before deciding which is best,Elena Filatova rides her motorcycle around the ghost towns of Chernobyl with a geiger counter and a camera and also writes about it.
Nice photos of everything left just the way it was when the towns around Chernobyl were evacuated i wonder how long it will be before people can go back to live there.
//http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/