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Confusious

(8,317 posts)
49. Sorry, but
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 04:45 PM
Sep 2012

You need rare earth elements to make the solar panel, sand they have to be mined.

The panels need to be shipped, and they need to be replaced.

So you'll be connected to a grid, in a different way.

About those German solar power plants... [View all] Playinghardball Sep 2012 OP
America has no sol. nt valerief Sep 2012 #1
k r for solar! DonRedwood Sep 2012 #2
SoCal should cover every roof top with solar panels abelenkpe Sep 2012 #3
+ 10,000 n/t truedelphi Sep 2012 #4
Because they don't love self-sufficiency nearly as much as they love money.... djean111 Sep 2012 #5
Efficency upgrades are the cheapest way to add capacity Mopar151 Sep 2012 #19
along the highways. robinlynne Sep 2012 #6
so should Texas justabob Sep 2012 #9
The largest impediments in CA are environmental ProgressiveProfessor Sep 2012 #13
Not so much for rooftop XemaSab Sep 2012 #21
So go for localized microgrids a geek named Bob Sep 2012 #51
That becomes a cost issue, though many more of them would drive that down ProgressiveProfessor Sep 2012 #61
I am (slowly) building up a solar furnace, using a combo of steam and thermocouple a geek named Bob Sep 2012 #62
Advantage of PV is that aside from occasionally rinsing them off, residential installations require ProgressiveProfessor Sep 2012 #63
I prefer the solar thermal, as it is less fragile... a geek named Bob Sep 2012 #64
The key issue as I see it is user expectations ProgressiveProfessor Sep 2012 #69
some of it is fun, and some os a royal fun in the neck... a geek named Bob Sep 2012 #71
And Northern Cal. And the other 49 states too. progressoid Sep 2012 #35
Why German industry is thanking the Green party pampango Sep 2012 #7
Fabulous malaise Sep 2012 #11
only the most wasteful, most frivolous Americans would be against this fascisthunter Sep 2012 #8
Solar is a feelgood myth. wtmusic Sep 2012 #43
Yeah, Ummmm... What's your point? fascisthunter Sep 2012 #65
Then how can Germany generate enough energy to replace 20 nuclear reactors? randome Sep 2012 #67
Yes - misleading. wtmusic Sep 2012 #68
You do realize that in Spain, they have a solar power plant that generates electricity AT NIGHT. Zalatix Sep 2012 #76
And I bet there's a huge conspiracy to stop it, too. wtmusic Sep 2012 #77
Only the greedy oil baron like Koch bros and others would be against this. If they could monopolize nanabugg Sep 2012 #50
Gigawatts per hour? n/t sl8 Sep 2012 #10
Do you realize how many volts per minute that is?? wtmusic Sep 2012 #42
Far too many, I can tell you that. Zoom in really close on the fence in the picture ... sl8 Sep 2012 #53
Ach du lieber wtmusic Sep 2012 #54
I think we can generate Confusious Sep 2012 #66
Amazing considering their climate and we have Cleita Sep 2012 #12
I was going to mention their climate too Victor_c3 Sep 2012 #14
Guess what? Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #17
Solar Two tower was demolished green for victory Sep 2012 #18
Sorry, wrong picture.... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #23
Ivanpah will be super when it comes online next year! green for victory Sep 2012 #26
I'm gonna get all "scifi" here for a sec. On Star Trek they use ionized gas to store power.... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #29
It's hard to move plasma around. DetlefK Sep 2012 #31
The plasma we are familiar with is high temperature,... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #34
We can go even lower in plasma-temperature: DetlefK Sep 2012 #78
Most of the time when we think of putting plasma in a container it's in magnetic suspension,... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #80
It would loose its electric charge and the plasma would turn into normal gas. DetlefK Sep 2012 #81
"Ah, you are thinking of the self-recharging battery in a light-saber!" Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #82
It's a start, but we need so much more like solar panels on every roof throughout the very Cleita Sep 2012 #25
They are saying we need the rooftops to be white too in order to reflect the heat back into space. Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #30
39 percent of BP is American owned... 2on2u Sep 2012 #32
Thirty nine percent? Try again. Any company that is 10% foreign owned should not be Cleita Sep 2012 #37
Amazing, but sorely misleading. wtmusic Sep 2012 #46
They also use wind, which we also have an abundance of. Cleita Sep 2012 #47
It's possible a young child created the OP graphic wtmusic Sep 2012 #52
pics green for victory Sep 2012 #15
Welcome to DU! XemaSab Sep 2012 #22
Thanks! green for victory Sep 2012 #24
SoftBank Solar Park, Kyoto, Japan Art_from_Ark Sep 2012 #27
So, why ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2012 #16
Corporate welfare. Egalitarian Thug Sep 2012 #20
Obama mentioned building a smart grid in the 2008 run. If he gets majorities it'll happen.... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2012 #28
Power company/coal/rail/gas lobbyists SoCalDem Sep 2012 #33
The natural gas industry adores solar wtmusic Sep 2012 #48
Sorry, but Confusious Sep 2012 #49
So are you saying ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2012 #72
There have been rumors swirling to that effect for years XemaSab Sep 2012 #73
Because it would take a quarter of Arizona Confusious Sep 2012 #39
Not to mention roughly a quadrillion dollars in solar panels wtmusic Sep 2012 #44
Frothy optimism ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2012 #74
Forward thinking... wtmusic Sep 2012 #75
Republicans block every thing that might help America Berlum Sep 2012 #36
I had a candid conversation with our real estate agent yesterday. DCKit Sep 2012 #38
Grid tie is a sales plus, stand alone rarely is unless you are truely remote ProgressiveProfessor Sep 2012 #70
We're remote enough that we could afford to quadruple the size of the system.... DCKit Sep 2012 #79
I just came across this quote which sums up right campaign strategies in a nutshell WhoIsNumberNone Sep 2012 #40
Um, producing "22 gigawatts per hour" makes no sense whatsoever wtmusic Sep 2012 #41
Watt hours are used by electric utilities. aandegoons Sep 2012 #55
Well I'll be damned. wtmusic Sep 2012 #56
You are right aandegoons Sep 2012 #60
Reuters corrected their article: sl8 Sep 2012 #57
they would really use the word demon here in hazard ky jackbnimble Sep 2012 #45
Paintsville here. I know the feeling. nt Comrade_McKenzie Sep 2012 #58
welcome to DU jackbnimble wtmusic Sep 2012 #59
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