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Over 1% of US land is devoted to biofuels. If we replaced those corn fields with solar, it would produce 4x the electricity currently consumed in the US.
by dr_dshiv 1y ago
Over 1% of US land is devoted to biofuels. If we replaced those corn fields with solar, it would produce 4x the electricity currently consumed in the US.
- terminalshort 1y agoOr if we just put those panels on any other land. Land isn't the constraint here.
- fooker 1y agoSure if we could magically transport and store it. Like we can for liquid fuels.
- ben_w 1y agoNo magic required: the tech for transporting electricity predates writing, and that by about six millenia; while reusable storage was only about 27 years after dynamo generators, 1859 vs. 1832. Both have since been improved upon somewhat.
- dr_dshiv 1y agoWhat are you referring to? Copper?
- ben_w 1y agoMostly, but gold and silver are also simultaneously antiquity-era metals and great electrical conductors. No generators to connect to a power grid, nothing to use the power for, but they could still transport electricity in the time before writing.
- jameshart 1y agoMagically transporting and storing liquid fuels involves an unbelievably massive supply chain of trucks and refineries and storage tanks and gas stations. If we need infrastructure to make use of energy we can ‘magic’ it up.