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I don't know how scalable it is, but isn't concentrated solar power fairly environmentally benign? That system uses mirrors and lenses to boil water and generat
by andrewl 6y ago
I don't know how scalable it is, but isn't concentrated solar power fairly environmentally benign? That system uses mirrors and lenses to boil water and generate steam. The steam drives turbines attached to generators.
There are certainly some environmental effects, as described at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power#Environmental_effects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power#Envir...
But the basic model seems cleaner to me.
- sesuximo 6y agoI think the primary drawback is amount of energy produced per (area | dollar | worker | etc).
- jabl 6y agoThe problem with solar, regardless of how it's harvested, is that it's a very diffuse energy source. So you inevitably end up with a relatively high material footprint.
- loeg 6y agoMultiple problems: - High land use (low energy density). This has both economic and ecological cost/impact. It might be ok in the SW US, but likely unacceptable elsewhere. - Becomes less effective the further you get from the equator. - Energy storage is a problem at night time, and also cloudy days.