DailyDirt: Solar Power Blankets The Earth, News At 11
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Solar energy has its benefits and shortcomings, just as any energy source does. However, to some folks, solar power just seems so much more attractive and “natural” than nuclear power or even wind energy. Everyone recognizes the sun as a source of energy, and solar panels to turn sunlight into electricity generally don’t have lots of noisy moving parts or any visible waste products. If you ignore all the drawbacks, solar energy is perfect. If you’re a solar power fanboy or fangirl, check out a few of these links.
- Floating blimps delivering solar power could help out in emergency relief operations as quick and easy generators that don’t require a fuel supply chain to keep them going. The Zephyr is a prototype that could provide energy for makeshift hospitals or small refugee camps, and a working version could be available for use before the end of 2015. [url]
- The first “solar battery” made in a lab has the ability to turn light into electricity and store that energy — eliminating the loss of electricity that usually occurs when solar power is transferred to external batteries. These solar cells increase the efficiency of collecting and storing solar energy, but it could take some time before we see these devices sold commercially. [url]
- A 550-megawatt solar power plant is the largest operating solar farm covering 9.5 square miles. It should be able to power 160,000 homes, and a slightly larger 579-MW solar power plant is scheduled to turn on later in 2015. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: energy, energy storage, solar, solar battery, solar power, zephyr
Comments on “DailyDirt: Solar Power Blankets The Earth, News At 11”
What is the environmental impact of solar cells? How long does it take to break even on creating a huge solar cell farm?
Re: Re:
Huge solar cell farms are dumb. But that’s what makes corporations happy. The farms should be limited and rooftop solar should be used where sensible.
The environmental impact of farms is not negligible, and on the photovoltaic end, the common cells are produced from elements of which the mining and processing also has a non-negligible environmental impact. Possibly less so than other power options, and it’s not like we don’t use that stuff anyway for everything else, but it is a cost.
We are still far from having good renewable options which is why any developments in solar power are awesome. We need to make it cheaper and get every roof equipped with panels so at least energy will be saved during the day. I doubt we will see the conventional sources of energy scrapped and abandoned any time soon. We’ll need them at least during the night or when the renewables can’t keep up.
Whenever I read about solar power, I can’t help thinking of a quote/joke I read on the net several years ago;
“We’ll have workable solar energy when they figure out how to run sunlight through a meter.”
Say what?
If you ignore all the drawbacks, solar energy is perfect.
If you ignore the fact that I am ugly, I am beautiful.
Fees punish solar users
Power companies are punishing solar users with fees.
Here are Some headlines:
Appalachian Power’s proposed fee targets users of solar panels
Oklahoma Will Charge Customers Who Install Their Own Solar Panels
Solar Home Owners Battle Their Electric Companies
Solar firms, power companies battle over ‘net metering’
As Solar Power Grows, Dispute Flares Over U.S. Utility Bills
Electric power companies challenge “net metering” policies, saying nonsolar households end up with higher costs.
Regulators agree to increase fixed charge on We Energies electric bills
Arizona Approves Grid-Connection Fees for Solar Rooftops
…
I live in a wetlands area and get more than enough sun but I share this space with some extraordinary birds and I have watched them now for years fly just a few feet higher than the roofs of the few houses here. The thought of acres and acres of solar panels makes me wonder if we might be harming or killing other species.
It really needs serious, objective study because we already know birds have been killed by windmills.
Animals do learn from awful experiences but they have less and less space as we build up more and more and we should be careful.
To be honest I woludn’t really rely on this type of power.
Weatcher can change any moment and what then?
Recently I found quite interesting concept about getting the power form the air (I don’t mean windmills). I built small version of the device and it seems to work
Maybye it is future of electricity. (if you are interested take a look at http://tiny-uri.com//airenergy)