Thread: Are Solar Panels Really That Good For The Environment?

Originally Posted by KarlB

The important question is: are solar panels better for the environment than coal fired power generation?

Sadly, we cannot get rid of coal fired power generation because it's cheap, reliable and can supply our needs at all times.
Solar panels cannot do this. Solar panels can only be used to supplement small scale domestic needs during the day.

I feel much better now in my hand crafted aluminum can Defender that has utilized the same tooling for 60 years to minimize the environmental impact of changing the production line rashly, like every 50 years.

Solar has got to start some where.
It is just starting to get a head of steam up now, once battery technology gets to a point where it can be charged and run your house at night coal is dead.
The coalition has been lobbied furiously by coal and power industry to shut down solar........a pity as we really do need to look at alternate energy sources.
Is a PV cell harmful to the environment?
Ask whom is telling us that it is!
They are certainly depleting rare earth minerals, for all the right reasons.

Originally Posted by disco man

I am not posting this to stir the pot,I just thought it was an interesting read and maybe some of you will too.

How Green Are Those Solar Panels, Really?

Originally Posted by RR P38

Solar has got to start some where.
It is just starting to get a head of steam up now, once battery technology gets to a point where it can be charged and run your house at night coal is dead.
The coalition has been lobbied furiously by coal and power industry to shut down solar........a pity as we really do need to look at alternate energy sources.
Is a PV cell harmful to the environment?
Ask whom is telling us that it is!
They are certainly depleting rare earth minerals, for all the right reasons.

So, a quick question, given a house would require a solar panel area the size of a housing block of land, what do you propose will supply trains, trams, office buildings, high rise flats & apartments and heavy industry if not coal?

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Solar cannot do this. Solar can only be used to supplement small scale domestic needs during the day.

Engineers are working on the next solar energy revolution, storage batteries. Costs will fall and solar energy will be storable for consumption whenever it's needed. First example off google:

https://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/01...rage-solution/

The project will demonstrate how well a photovoltaic (PV) solar system and battery storage, disconnected from the grid, can provide energy for a user's critical loads during a given time period, enabling similar systems to be securely deployed at remote, mission critical facilities.

more:

Storage Is the New Solar: Will Batteries and PV Create an Unstoppable Hybrid Force? : Greentech Media

Tesla Motors wants to build cheaper lithium batteries for vehicles as well as storage.

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), SolarCity Corp(NASDAQ:SCTY) News Analysis: Tesla Motors Inc Could Soon Be The Nation's Top Energy-Storage Vendor

I've been watching this trend quietly unfold over the last couple of years, when it becomes mainstream it will change things quite substantially.

Whole of life it would appear aPV is very harmfull, see post above . However there is a lot more to solar than what we see on our roofs, and some nasty side effects, for example the solar tower in Nevada? That just opened, and fries every bird that goes in front of the concentrating mirrors.

Whole of life is the way to look at these solutions, I don't see how a coal based Pirius can claim a clean title, different to an extent if hydro powered, but even a dam creates a lot of co2 during construction.

A lot of development in the nuclear field too, esp small units to decentralize power to where it's needed.

I would love to know to what extent coal has cleaned its act up in the last 50 years, taking Hazelwood as a starting point, and does it have much more potential to clean up.

The coalition has been lobbied furiously by coal and power industry to shut down solar........

AFAIR the Coalition has left the small scale REC program in place.
However the recent report on renewables ( by the renewable industry)claims large scale solar is nowhere competitive with wind.

If we can store solar power for when it is actually needed in the morning and afternoon peaks, then we could maybe do away with all the "spinning reserve" coal power that has to be kept on line all day in case it is needed when some clouds appear.
I am disappointed that governments and companies do not seem to be addressing the storage problem, except maybe the Molten salt thing in Spain which is part of large scale solar, and it turns out they ran generators at night to increase their subsidy.

The main storage options as I understand it are pumping water uphill during the day and then releasing it to run turbines in peak hours, and spinning massive flywheels on superconducting bearings. Neither of these options seems to have been taken up in a big way.
I think it is a dream that batteries could ever take the place of coal power for a normal household in a city with air conditioning, dishwashers, hot water etc. For committed individuals yes , for the mainstream , no.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by AndyG

Whole of life it would appear aPV is very harmfull, see post above . However there is a lot more to solar than what we see on our roofs, and some nasty side effects, for example the solar tower in Nevada? That just opened, and fries every bird that goes in front of the concentrating mirrors.

Whole of life is the way to look at these solutions, I don't see how a coal based Pirius can claim a clean title, different to an extent if hydro powered, but even a dam creates a lot of co2 during construction.

A lot of development in the nuclear field too, esp small units to decentralize power to where it's needed.

I would love to know to what extent coal has cleaned its act up in the last 50 years, taking Hazelwood as a starting point, and does it have much more potential to clean up.

A long read but a good one.

Can Coal Ever Be Clean?