We will probably need to do some of each. Homes, schools and desert solar ranches. (Reply #116)

In the discussion thread: New Report: Solar could provide 100% of world's energy needs by 2050 using only 1% of world's land [View all]

Response to NCTraveler (Reply #95)

Fri Jan 18, 2013, 03:11 PM

JDPriestly (57,936 posts)

116. We will probably need to do some of each. Homes, schools and desert solar ranches.

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132 replies	Author	Time	Post
New Report: Solar could provide 100% of world's energy needs by 2050 using only 1% of world's land [View all]	FourScore	Jan 2013	OP
And the oil rich nations?	aquart	Jan 2013	#1
Pay 'em off! Get them into the solar array business!	randome	Jan 2013	#3
Luckily we've sold them plenty of weapons so when their economies go to shit...	progressoid	Jan 2013	#12
They're located at the best places	adieu	Jan 2013	#32
Who the fuck cares?	Zoeisright	Jan 2013	#57
like us?? there's still plenty of uses for oil	NMDemDist2	Jan 2013	#74
Cover 'em up!	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#99
Why, they can go pound sand.	Occulus	Jan 2013	#126
Truly good news	riverbendviewgal	Jan 2013	#2
1% of the land we have now or 1% of what will be left after the ice caps melt?	Motown_Johnny	Jan 2013	#4
But wouldn't that require about 300% of the world's Lanthanides?	Recursion	Jan 2013	#5
Whatever is needed can probably be synthetically created.	randome	Jan 2013	#8
I'm all for a "Man on the Moon" goal for renewable energy	Recursion	Jan 2013	#10
I think that could be done but it would be more like WWII level of societal effort	Fumesucker	Jan 2013	#14
Yeah. I wish things other than imminent death brought that out in people	Recursion	Jan 2013	#15
Or a fake Ozymandious invasion, ala Watchmen.	randome	Jan 2013	#16
No. We cannot "synthetically create" various elements	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#20
i don't think you can synthetically create elements.	ret5hd	Jan 2013	#53
Actually, the moon would be the best place to put solar arrays.	xtraxritical	Jan 2013	#128
Why on earth would you want to use lanthanides?	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#19
Have they fixed that in the last 6 years?	Recursion	Jan 2013	#21
They are used in certain exotic PV's	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#23
Cool, thanks.	Recursion	Jan 2013	#25
And how much usable energy	tama	Jan 2013	#30
Easy.....	paleotn	Jan 2013	#56
But the exotic PVs have higher efficiency	Confusious	Jan 2013	#31
And the Tesla is a great car	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#35
What about land area	Confusious	Jan 2013	#37
Oh, I thought I got the land for free	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#49
Agenda 21?	Confusious	Jan 2013	#65
Shhhh...	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#66
Roofs? Parking lots? and then of course vacant land. A lot here, a lot there in parts of	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#86
You think cities take up 1% of the land mass of the United States	Confusious	Jan 2013	#108
Cities and desert lands.	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#119
There's a lot	Confusious	Jan 2013	#122
We'll find the will.	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#127
As you, yourself, have pointed out	intaglio	Jan 2013	#129
20+% is no longer exotic, it's mainstream for SunPower. 44% is exotic.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#36
Yea, I said that's what the report is based on	Confusious	Jan 2013	#38
Got it. Also, I'm confident that the 1% figure is too great.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#45
But if we use 1%	BSlappedInvisibleHan	Jan 2013	#60
We need just 1/6000th the land surface at 100% efficiency.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#64
An in the opposite corner,	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#88
Ah, well, I didn't know there was a PV technology assumption in the report	jberryhill	Jan 2013	#50
What about Eastern California where it's mostly desert?	MessiahRp	Jan 2013	#93
California is a long way from the east coast	Confusious	Jan 2013	#107
There's a lot of unused land in the US right now. We could make this work if we wanted to.	MessiahRp	Jan 2013	#109
Is there any land that has absolutly nothing on it	Confusious	Jan 2013	#111
I'm sure there is. Also, rooftops in cities...	MessiahRp	Jan 2013	#112
Yea, but as my other post pointed out	Confusious	Jan 2013	#123
Now imagine ...	1StrongBlackMan	Jan 2013	#6
Dream on!	randome	Jan 2013	#9
Thanks ...	1StrongBlackMan	Jan 2013	#22
People who think solar energy is unrealistic do not live in Arizona, New Mexico or Southern	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#89
Or ...	1StrongBlackMan	Jan 2013	#96
Hellz yeah!	NoOneMan	Jan 2013	#7
Have teh solerz saved YOU yet?	Systematic Chaos	Jan 2013	#75
It isn't as if I don't "believe" in solar	NoOneMan	Jan 2013	#106
I got ya. I feel exactly the way you do.	Systematic Chaos	Jan 2013	#113
Do the necessary elements exist in such quantity on Earth?	cthulu2016	Jan 2013	#11
My math could be wrong....	NCTraveler	Jan 2013	#13
A quarter of Arizona	Confusious	Jan 2013	#33
But you put the panels on roofs and buildings and parking lots as well as desert land.	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#90
I think that is a big question.	NCTraveler	Jan 2013	#95
We will probably need to do some of each. Homes, schools and desert solar ranches.	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#116
Adding up the area of every city	Confusious	Jan 2013	#110
But that land isn't hard to find in the deserts of the Southwest.	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#115
There are some large plants, like the cactus.	Confusious	Jan 2013	#121
And Joshua trees, but that can be dealt with.	JDPriestly	Jan 2013	#125
1% of world's land is a lot of land	cpwm17	Jan 2013	#17
About 575,000 square miles I believe	onenote	Jan 2013	#26
And not only that, if one of the worlds volcanoes erupts, solar efficiencies could/will plummet.	RC	Jan 2013	#48
About 1 percent of the U.S. landmass is covered by pavement	daleo	Jan 2013	#78
Time To Finally Aim That Way	colsohlibgal	Jan 2013	#18
Why do you think belief has anything to do with the problem we face?	NoOneMan	Jan 2013	#24
Yep. However.....	AverageJoe90	Jan 2013	#52
that would be awesome	samsingh	Jan 2013	#27
Not until I receive my promised flying car	Brother Buzz	Jan 2013	#28
But where is storage tech today?	longship	Jan 2013	#29
Hydrogen, pumped hydro... (nt)	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#34
Electrolysis of sea water, I was thinking.	longship	Jan 2013	#55
You do realize that seawater has to be distilled	Confusious	Jan 2013	#69
That may be true, but the water can also be used for other purposes as well.	longship	Jan 2013	#70
Yes, but there's a reason it's only used when there's no other choice	Confusious	Jan 2013	#71
Very true...	longship	Jan 2013	#73
We're using pumped hydro right now with Diablo Canyon nuke power at night.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#81
Cool, let me clarify "loser"	longship	Jan 2013	#83
Electric cars would help store the power and keep the grid going at night. Also don't forget wind.	rightsideout	Jan 2013	#42
Solar Two was a start	green for victory	Jan 2013	#61
And now...	Amonester	Jan 2013	#85
Didn't I see this on the news in the '80s?	dorkulon	Jan 2013	#39
Solar (and other "emerging" technologies) are why we need government	Spike89	Jan 2013	#40
Good point, and very true. n/t	AverageJoe90	Jan 2013	#43
Everybody knows computers will be better and cheaper next year, does that inhibit	PoliticAverse	Jan 2013	#79
Actually it did for a long time	Spike89	Jan 2013	#117
Who could imagined that we could get energy from the Sun	Rosa Luxemburg	Jan 2013	#41
Sad!!	Lobo27	Jan 2013	#44
Energy needs or electricity needs?	nxylas	Jan 2013	#46
Make it so	Berlum	Jan 2013	#47
Daily Kos diarist got it wrong; not 'worldwide', in selected locations	muriel_volestrangler	Jan 2013	#51
Shhh! Don't upset the nukers with such ideas. It doesn't fit into the future of life on	leveymg	Jan 2013	#54
While the US was executing the PNAC plan, Germany became the leader in PV	green for victory	Jan 2013	#58
Here's Olmedilla de Alarcón Spain	green for victory	Jan 2013	#72
Storage Storage Storage	upi402	Jan 2013	#59
please see #61	green for victory	Jan 2013	#62
Electrolysis: 2H2O -> 2H2 + O2	longship	Jan 2013	#63
"I do not think we have a long time before we all realize that this needs to be top priority"	green for victory	Jan 2013	#67
Smart grid entails proprietary protocol problems	upi402	Jan 2013	#131
Except they will never be allowed to build it because of a few endangered species	n2doc	Jan 2013	#68
I don't see desert ecosystems "doing just fine."	joshcryer	Jan 2013	#76
Possibilities aren't necessarily realities. Fossil fuels remain most profitable.	joshcryer	Jan 2013	#77
Actually, less than 1/10 of 1% of the planet. 0.08% with 20% efficient modules.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#80
Installing solar over previously undeveloped land...	hunter	Jan 2013	#82
Yours is the classic blindness.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#84
What's the downside we have to worry about?	The2ndWheel	Jan 2013	#97
No argument here.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#98
Nope, got the right post	The2ndWheel	Jan 2013	#100
With this many people, it boils down to the lesser of evils.	NYC_SKP	Jan 2013	#101
+1	XemaSab	Jan 2013	#87
wait so putting pv on rooftops is destroying more land?	uponit7771	Jan 2013	#92
"world" by 2050?	moondust	Jan 2013	#91
But we only need to cover 1% of the oceans with oil slicks to do it with oil'	grahamhgreen	Jan 2013	#94
The problem is that the global economy doesn't work that way.	GliderGuider	Jan 2013	#102
The global economy CAN work that way if enough international cooperation gets underway.	randome	Jan 2013	#103
Let me know how that works out.	GliderGuider	Jan 2013	#104
YOU are the alternative power!	farminator3000	Jan 2013	#105
Yes, now please	Matariki	Jan 2013	#114
check out the solar towers here- going up in AZ and TX, i think. pretty f'in cool!	farminator3000	Jan 2013	#118
also MIT is doing 3-D solar panels	farminator3000	Jan 2013	#120
The EnviroMission tower is expected to be completed in 2015	farminator3000	Jan 2013	#124
Thin metallic film, nanoparticles, plasmonics, supramolecules	upi402	Jan 2013	#130
K&R	farminator3000	Jan 2013	#132

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