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Solar panels aren't burned for power. If the US manages to transition to 100% solar, but then China cuts off exports, then we're still at 100% solar. It will j
by sbierwagen 5y ago
Solar panels aren't burned for power.
If the US manages to transition to 100% solar, but then China cuts off exports, then we're still at 100% solar. It will just be more expensive to add more capacity or replace damaged panels. Annoying, but not oil-embargo level bad.
- 20after4 5y agoSolar panels have a very limited life span. Damage isn't the only concern by far. Their output drops proportional to their age.
- sbierwagen 5y agoSure, PV solar panels lose 0.5% of capacity a year. Coal plants also require regular maintenance and replacement of bearings, boilers and turbines. Not to mention landfilling the ash produced by digging up rocks and burning them. Nobody has figured out a source of perpetual electricity that does not produce solid waste. If that happens, it would be real exciting. If China was the sole-source of steam turbines and enacted a export ban we would also be in trouble. But China isn't the sole source of coal plants, turbines, or PV solar panels.