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If we went fully "renewable" how much industrial waste would these batteries that everyone needs create? Solar and Wind really doesnt work for everyone, where i

If we went fully "renewable" how much industrial waste would these batteries that everyone needs create? Solar and Wind really doesnt work for everyone, where it is cost effective, available and reliable it makes sense to mix them in, but you cant tell me you fully expect every country to go 100% Solar and Wind?

moultano 11y ago
Global population is concentrated near the equator and near the coast, both great conditions for solar and wind.
- ekianjo 11y ago
  Paris is a good example of that.
  - nl 11y ago
    Denmark is a net power exporter, from renewables.
threeseed 11y ago
The industrial waste caused by solar/wind would pale in comparison to the existing waste being generated by electric cars and mobile phones. And of course you can't expect every country to go fully solar/wind. What you need are integrated, continent wide power grids and alternative energy storage mechanisms like molten sands etc.
epistasis 11y ago
Batteries are really not that bad for industrial waste. Lead-acid are terrible, but there are better options when it comes to daily storage of lots of energy. Compared to coal, give me batteries any day! And we don't really yet know the full effects of all this cheap natural we're getting through fracking. Though I'm sure fracking is probably better than coal mining, we'll have to wait to see.
vectorjohn 11y ago
I don't expect every country to do it this year, or this decade. I also don't expect every country to have nuclear power either, because it's expensive. You think uranium mining is clean? Constructing all that stuff is free? Of course not. The amount of solar panels needed for a house (or their share, in some solar farm) is miniscule. It's 4-7 panels. If we want to store excess for night, maybe 10. The batteries fairly small (using lithium, a sufficient battery could hang on the wall. Maybe two tesla power walls would do it). The waste isn't that bad (nowhere near the amount of waste people create yearly in plastic or other landfill garbage). It's totally doable in first world countries. And it would go a long way in developing countries too, for the same reason cell phones gained popularity faster than landlines, because they require less infrastructure.

moultano 11y ago

Global population is concentrated near the equator and near the coast, both great conditions for solar and wind.

ekianjo 11y ago
Paris is a good example of that.
- nl 11y ago
  Denmark is a net power exporter, from renewables.

threeseed 11y ago

The industrial waste caused by solar/wind would pale in comparison to the existing waste being generated by electric cars and mobile phones. And of course you can't expect every country to go fully solar/wind. What you need are integrated, continent wide power grids and alternative energy storage mechanisms like molten sands etc.

epistasis 11y ago

Batteries are really not that bad for industrial waste. Lead-acid are terrible, but there are better options when it comes to daily storage of lots of energy. Compared to coal, give me batteries any day! And we don't really yet know the full effects of all this cheap natural we're getting through fracking. Though I'm sure fracking is probably better than coal mining, we'll have to wait to see.

vectorjohn 11y ago

I don't expect every country to do it this year, or this decade. I also don't expect every country to have nuclear power either, because it's expensive. You think uranium mining is clean? Constructing all that stuff is free? Of course not. The amount of solar panels needed for a house (or their share, in some solar farm) is miniscule. It's 4-7 panels. If we want to store excess for night, maybe 10. The batteries fairly small (using lithium, a sufficient battery could hang on the wall. Maybe two tesla power walls would do it). The waste isn't that bad (nowhere near the amount of waste people create yearly in plastic or other landfill garbage). It's totally doable in first world countries. And it would go a long way in developing countries too, for the same reason cell phones gained popularity faster than landlines, because they require less infrastructure.