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This solar has a carbon footprint argument is absurd. If you used this logic we would never have renewable energy because it creates a chicken and egg problem.
by andrewtbham 10y ago
This solar has a carbon footprint argument is absurd. If you used this logic we would never have renewable energy because it creates a chicken and egg problem. It would only make sense if the amount of energy used to produce solar panels exceeded the amount of energy it produced over it's lifetime, which is not the case.
- maxerickson 10y agoIt does make a lot of sense to examine the expected EROI when installing them though. Buying power from the other side of a mountain might be a lot greener than installing solar panels in your own backyard (that probably requires much of the transmission infrastructure to already exist, but a lot of transmission infrastructure already exists).
- dogma1138 10y agoNo it's not an absurd argument, you need to understand the actual carbon footprint for the entire supply chain. In this case you can easily end up releasing more carbon by building the solar panels and all the machinery needed for sequestering the CO2 than you can actually effectively sequester within the effectively lifespan of your machinery. You also need to take into account in the cost since each dollar (or any other unit of currency) has a carbon footprint on it's own based on the economy it was generated in. There is a good reason why some things are not effective, viable or just plain stupid, otherwise you end up planning your freaking solar roadways or worse building them.