4 ms·

Ironically, it almost sounds as if total energy consumption may increase due to cheap solar… Definitely good to not be using fossil fuels but there must also b

Ironically, it almost sounds as if total energy consumption may increase due to cheap solar… Definitely good to not be using fossil fuels but there must also be a later point at which marginal increases in energy consumption have negative effects.

pests 2y ago
What would the risk be other than changing the distribution of heat around the planet? The solar power would have heated up the area locally had it not been captured by the panel. This makes the local temp lower while raising the temp at the point the power is used.
- cowsandmilk 2y ago
  White roofs reflect the sun’s energy back to the atmosphere. It isn’t a given that it will be absorbed.
- rcxdude 2y ago
  Solar panels have a pretty low albedo compared to most surfaces: they will contribute to warming of the planet to some degree because less light gets reflected back into space. It's just much, much less than the warming from fossil fuels for the same amount of energy.
ZeroGravitas 2y ago
The roughly 4x efficiency gains in using electricity for heating and replacing engines means energy is likely to go down over the next decades even while electricity use might double.