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Another vote from me: this article is nonsense and I don't think that HN's readership should endorse this kind of propaganda. Evidence (no affiliation): * Sola

Another vote from me: this article is nonsense and I don't think that HN's readership should endorse this kind of propaganda. Evidence (no affiliation): * Solar panels are approaching 50 cents per watt: https://www.altestore.com/store/solar-panels/vikram-solar-540-watt-solar-panel-p42642/ https://www.altestore.com/store/solar-panels/vikram-solar-54... * 700 watt panels are going mainstream: https://www.bluesunpv.com/bluesun-n-type-700watt-solar-panel-bifacial-210-cell-700w-solar-pv-module_p518.html https://www.bluesunpv.com/bluesun-n-type-700watt-solar-panel... * 240 V inverters are approaching 10 cents per watt (and wouldn't be needed at all if EVs accepted direct DC input like CHAdeMO and CCS to charge while driving): https://invertersrus.com/product-category/power-inverters/240-vac-60hz/ https://invertersrus.com/product-category/power-inverters/24... The future is solar cars that charge themselves while sitting idle, that power the home through bidirectional charging off the shelf: https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/ontario-man-uses-ford-f-150-lightning-to-power-home-for-close-to-two-days/ https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/ontario-man-uses-ford-f-150... This was all set to be rolled out in the early 2000s had the Bush/Gore election been decided differently and the entire weight of the industrialized world's moneyed interests hadn't decided to crush EVs. See Who Killed the Electric Car and similar for overwhelming evidence of this. Thankfully it's no longer their choice. We can build our own solar-electric vehicles now. In fact, I bought 2 panels and was in the process of building a roof rack and 5-10 kWh buffer battery to sit in the trunk of my 2013 Nissan Leaf before the economy conveniently shrank to vacuum up any available money for such projects. Edit: this sure didn't help either: https://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/ https://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/

kibwen 4y ago
Right, for a light passenger vehicle (smaller than a sedan, larger than a motorcycle) you can probably get 40 miles of range per day if you live in a sunny locale. That ain't road trip mileage, and it may not be economical depending on other factors, but for lots of people that would be enough.
- Neil44 4y ago
  Really? If it’s incredibly efficient at 4mi/kWh you’d need 10kwh per day (assuming 100% efficiency) from a panel on a car roof… that doesn’t even seem close to me.
Scoundreller 4y ago
> Edit: this sure didn't help either: https://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/ https://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/ Can’t you just hit up Mexico or Canada? I thought Americans can bring in US$800 duty-free at a time. I guess you’d lose other subsidies though.
jjav 4y ago
> 700 watt panels are going mainstream: https://www.bluesunpv.com/bluesun-n-type-700watt-solar-panel https://www.bluesunpv.com/bluesun-n-type-700watt-solar-panel... That panel is just under 8ft by just over 4ft. So basically same size as a sheet of plywood, i.e. the size of the bed of a long-bed pickup truck. That's not going to fit on the roof of most cars.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  Split it into quarter cell tiles and it fits easily on the roof, boot, and hood. Then there's the sides which produce a significant amount of power in any orientation unless you're right on the equator.

kibwen 4y ago

Right, for a light passenger vehicle (smaller than a sedan, larger than a motorcycle) you can probably get 40 miles of range per day if you live in a sunny locale. That ain't road trip mileage, and it may not be economical depending on other factors, but for lots of people that would be enough.

Neil44 4y ago
Really? If it’s incredibly efficient at 4mi/kWh you’d need 10kwh per day (assuming 100% efficiency) from a panel on a car roof… that doesn’t even seem close to me.

Scoundreller 4y ago

> Edit: this sure didn't help either: https://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/ https://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/ Can’t you just hit up Mexico or Canada? I thought Americans can bring in US$800 duty-free at a time. I guess you’d lose other subsidies though.

jjav 4y ago

> 700 watt panels are going mainstream: https://www.bluesunpv.com/bluesun-n-type-700watt-solar-panel https://www.bluesunpv.com/bluesun-n-type-700watt-solar-panel... That panel is just under 8ft by just over 4ft. So basically same size as a sheet of plywood, i.e. the size of the bed of a long-bed pickup truck. That's not going to fit on the roof of most cars.

Schroedingersat 4y ago
Split it into quarter cell tiles and it fits easily on the roof, boot, and hood. Then there's the sides which produce a significant amount of power in any orientation unless you're right on the equator.