On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 7:56 AM, Vivec wrote: > > Think we could get a Trillian dollar global stimulus package to make THAT > happen? :-) > > > http://gizmodo.com/5350191/how-many-solar-panels-would-it-take-to-power-the-entire-world > > Forget about the entire surface of the planet. Solar can only be really efficiently generated in areas with the best sun exposure. Transmission, then, is the biggest barrier to this sort of scheme as a global solution. Transmission lines are expensive to build, inefficient over long distances (you can lose 2/3 of the power en route to destination), and environmentally unfriendly. It doesn't make sense to push power out of the areas where it could be efficiently generated into areas where it could not.
Still, areas like the southwest US, the Middle East and North Africa should invest heavily in small solar- units for homes and businesses. Combined with two-way metering (so you can earn credits for generating more power than you use), such a scheme could make cheap, clean electricity a reality for many people. I don't know about using solar in the tropics. I would be concerned about heavy storms damaging equipment and preventing efficient generation, but I don't know enough about the science to know whether it could work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:303400 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
