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Post by semipotentwalrus on Aug 2, 2024 10:03:29 GMT -5
Subsidized solar for rural areas where it's viable sounds like it has potential. It allows for rural communities to be more self-sufficient, decentralizes points of failure (spread out solar isn't as vulnerable to something breaking down as Texas' energy grid, for example), and it helps reduce emissions to boot.
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Post by Haighus on Aug 2, 2024 10:17:52 GMT -5
I am firmly of the opinion that every home and workplace with a sufficiently sturdy roof should have solar across most of the planet.
That would massively improve grid resiliency and reduce grid energy requirements during the day.
Unless huge investment is made in energy storage or some kind of global energy grid is set up, it is only a partial solution. I really don't think putting a battery in every house is practical unless they use minerals that are far more abundant than lithium. Sodium-ion batteries (which don't need rare minirals) might be a big step change for that but they are only just entering use for grid energy storage.
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Post by herzlos on Aug 2, 2024 14:52:35 GMT -5
For the more rural communities, I don't see why the communities couldn't become nearly self sufficient with solar/wind/storage, but I suspect there's a trade-off where urban areas are maybe more efficient with centralized production and distribution. I'm of course assuming that a single roof system isn't going to be as efficient as a solar farm / power plant.
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Post by semipotentwalrus on Aug 2, 2024 14:57:58 GMT -5
No reason why you couldn't have a local solar farm/power plant though. Sure, a bigger plant might be more efficient than three smaller ones but you're losing less in transmission and you have more points of failure before you're completely fucked.
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Post by Haighus on Aug 2, 2024 16:09:26 GMT -5
Rooftop solar is also very space efficient, because that space isn't doing anything else that is impeded by panels. Contrast to solar farms stuck over arable farmland* or on brownfield sites that could be developed into houses + solar instead.
*You can graze sheep round them, but it is still less useful than planting crops and sticking the panels on some rooves instead.
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