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South Africa’s blackouts are driving a solar boom

16 points by dkobia 3y ago

throwawaysleep 3y ago
I always thought the gun owning prepper types that hate the government would have loved solar for this reason.
- olddustytrail 3y ago
  Do they not? I'd have thought solar & battery would be an obvious solution for off-grid.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- api 3y ago
  Go to the DIY solar and off grid subreddits and you’ll find a few. Some have mini wind and even hydro on small creeks. I saw a discussion once on why EVs would be better in a prepper situation than gas cars. Not only are they more reliable but they can be charged from all kinds of sources including gas via a generator. Gas stations meanwhile would run out of gas pretty quick. I wonder if you could carry enough panels in an EV to trek all over the country with several day or week long stops to set up your panels and charge in between. You’d need about 2kw for trickle charging. 20 thin 200W panels seems feasible. Gun nut solarpunk preppers are definitely a thing that could exist.
- pseudo0 3y ago
  It is quite popular among those types, but the really serious preppers don't post about their setups online, and the rest mostly use niche forums rather than reddit, HN, etc. And most journalists aren't interested, since it contradicts the sort of narrative their editors and readers want.
- hackeraccount 3y ago
  Eh, I can see that type of cat not liking grid connected solar but be fine with the rest. They tend towards governmental distrust. People have interests but there are limits - see also some of the people opposed to cape wind; they should support it but they have interests.
spenrose 3y ago
South Africa's electricity and coal sectors are run by kleptocrats: https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/carbon-notes-4-from-feast-to-famine https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/carbon-notes-4-from-feast-t... . The solar boom is notable, but the author hasn't sone his homework.
tibbydudeza 3y ago
I did this when financing models became available since I work from home, not off-grid system but I can run my home when the twice daily 4 hourly power cuts happen.
onetokeoverthe 3y ago
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16 points by dkobia 3y ago

throwawaysleep 3y ago

I always thought the gun owning prepper types that hate the government would have loved solar for this reason.

olddustytrail 3y ago
Do they not? I'd have thought solar & battery would be an obvious solution for off-grid.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
api 3y ago
Go to the DIY solar and off grid subreddits and you’ll find a few. Some have mini wind and even hydro on small creeks. I saw a discussion once on why EVs would be better in a prepper situation than gas cars. Not only are they more reliable but they can be charged from all kinds of sources including gas via a generator. Gas stations meanwhile would run out of gas pretty quick. I wonder if you could carry enough panels in an EV to trek all over the country with several day or week long stops to set up your panels and charge in between. You’d need about 2kw for trickle charging. 20 thin 200W panels seems feasible. Gun nut solarpunk preppers are definitely a thing that could exist.
pseudo0 3y ago
It is quite popular among those types, but the really serious preppers don't post about their setups online, and the rest mostly use niche forums rather than reddit, HN, etc. And most journalists aren't interested, since it contradicts the sort of narrative their editors and readers want.
hackeraccount 3y ago
Eh, I can see that type of cat not liking grid connected solar but be fine with the rest. They tend towards governmental distrust. People have interests but there are limits - see also some of the people opposed to cape wind; they should support it but they have interests.

spenrose 3y ago

South Africa's electricity and coal sectors are run by kleptocrats: https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/carbon-notes-4-from-feast-to-famine https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/carbon-notes-4-from-feast-t... . The solar boom is notable, but the author hasn't sone his homework.

tibbydudeza 3y ago

I did this when financing models became available since I work from home, not off-grid system but I can run my home when the twice daily 4 hourly power cuts happen.

onetokeoverthe 3y ago

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