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I like this approach of integration, rather than hoping there's land somewhere remote enough. There's also a lot of loss of efficiency with having the power tr

I like this approach of integration, rather than hoping there's land somewhere remote enough. There's also a lot of loss of efficiency with having the power transferred from land outside of town.

JoeAltmaier 4y ago
Transmission efficiency is negligible. Look at google maps. Human habitation is a small part of the landscape in many places. Solar farms are essentially portable - put them wherever they can be scaled, not interfere with existing infrastructure, convenient planned grid connection points at scale, and on and on. No, this is not an Engineering solution. Folks latch onto this stuff as a sort of 1st-order plan. No, 0th order. With no thought beyond "Hey solar panels are flat; parking lots are flat!" I reread the article. Seems that this is putting solar development on the public! No mention of govt assistance in buying/installing all this gear. Are parking lots so profitable, they can support this significant cost? It seems a lazy law written by a lazy senate to get points in the press.
- CharlesW 4y ago
  > Are parking lots so profitable, they can support this significant cost? Costs are far more than offset by savings. The savings in electric bills from schools with solar panels often topped millions in each district, and many have been able to adopt the technology without shouldering any costs up front. “If you’re conservative, we didn’t ask you for more taxes, if you’re liberal, you love the green concept,” said Michael Hester, the school superintendent in Batesville, Ark., where solar arrays paid for teacher raises. “It’s a win-win.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/climate/solar-energy-school-funding.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/climate/solar-energy-scho... (archive: https://archive.ph/U5Alc https://archive.ph/U5Alc)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

I like this approach of integration, rather than hoping there's land somewhere remote enough. There's also a lot of loss of efficiency with having the power transferred from land outside of town.

JoeAltmaier 4y ago

Transmission efficiency is negligible. Look at google maps. Human habitation is a small part of the landscape in many places. Solar farms are essentially portable - put them wherever they can be scaled, not interfere with existing infrastructure, convenient planned grid connection points at scale, and on and on. No, this is not an Engineering solution. Folks latch onto this stuff as a sort of 1st-order plan. No, 0th order. With no thought beyond "Hey solar panels are flat; parking lots are flat!" I reread the article. Seems that this is putting solar development on the public! No mention of govt assistance in buying/installing all this gear. Are parking lots so profitable, they can support this significant cost? It seems a lazy law written by a lazy senate to get points in the press.

CharlesW 4y ago
> Are parking lots so profitable, they can support this significant cost? Costs are far more than offset by savings. The savings in electric bills from schools with solar panels often topped millions in each district, and many have been able to adopt the technology without shouldering any costs up front. “If you’re conservative, we didn’t ask you for more taxes, if you’re liberal, you love the green concept,” said Michael Hester, the school superintendent in Batesville, Ark., where solar arrays paid for teacher raises. “It’s a win-win.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/climate/solar-energy-school-funding.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/climate/solar-energy-scho... (archive: https://archive.ph/U5Alc https://archive.ph/U5Alc)
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]