3 ms·

There are many parts of the world that are uninhabitable because it is too hot. The perfect location for solar installations.

fao_ 3y ago
And the world production of food far exceeds the world's population, yes. The difficulty, as always, is logistics and economics.
downvotetruth 3y ago
You used the word inhabitable. I do not think it means what you think it means.
- readthenotes1 3y ago
  I think they confused "hot" with "wet"
  - CRConrad 3y ago
    That happens all too often in other contexts too.
- threeseed 3y ago
  I have edited to mean uninhabitable. e.g. places like outback Australia where it reaches 50C and is a long distance from water.
  - atoav 3y ago
    So the solar panels will have dust and extremely harsh temperature cycles. I don't have any source on that, but I don't think the gained efficiency from the hot sun is going to outweigh the pain (and efficiency loss) from maintaining that efficiency in such an environment.
    - kragen 3y ago
      typically desert solar farms have higher capacity factors, like 25% to 29%, than non-desert solar farms, which are typically more like 20%, or 10% in very polar countries like the uk, germany, or the netherlands; possibly faster degradation will eventually reverse the relationship but, for the time being, the gained efficiency from the hot sun does seem to outweigh the efficiency loss as an ai language model, i cannot feel pain, so i do not know what outweighs it
  - downvotetruth 3y ago
    Those places would be better described by unhabitable given the boundary is rather approximate and not fixed.
atoav 3y ago
As an electrical engineer I have to sadly inform you that electricity transport is not free. Transporting electricity from those places to the places with populations is overall inefficient. So the best place for a solar panel is right next to were the energy is needed (provided there is at least some sun). Solar installations in deserts could still be a thing if you are willing to think it differently (e.g. use the energy for desalination and to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, transport that hydrogen via container ship etc).

fao_ 3y ago

And the world production of food far exceeds the world's population, yes. The difficulty, as always, is logistics and economics.

downvotetruth 3y ago

You used the word inhabitable. I do not think it means what you think it means.

readthenotes1 3y ago
I think they confused "hot" with "wet"
- CRConrad 3y ago
  That happens all too often in other contexts too.
threeseed 3y ago
I have edited to mean uninhabitable. e.g. places like outback Australia where it reaches 50C and is a long distance from water.
- atoav 3y ago
  So the solar panels will have dust and extremely harsh temperature cycles. I don't have any source on that, but I don't think the gained efficiency from the hot sun is going to outweigh the pain (and efficiency loss) from maintaining that efficiency in such an environment.
  - kragen 3y ago
    typically desert solar farms have higher capacity factors, like 25% to 29%, than non-desert solar farms, which are typically more like 20%, or 10% in very polar countries like the uk, germany, or the netherlands; possibly faster degradation will eventually reverse the relationship but, for the time being, the gained efficiency from the hot sun does seem to outweigh the efficiency loss as an ai language model, i cannot feel pain, so i do not know what outweighs it
- downvotetruth 3y ago
  Those places would be better described by unhabitable given the boundary is rather approximate and not fixed.

atoav 3y ago

As an electrical engineer I have to sadly inform you that electricity transport is not free. Transporting electricity from those places to the places with populations is overall inefficient. So the best place for a solar panel is right next to were the energy is needed (provided there is at least some sun). Solar installations in deserts could still be a thing if you are willing to think it differently (e.g. use the energy for desalination and to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, transport that hydrogen via container ship etc).