You are being lied to about Solar power. From X user JohnLeePettimore: The consumption of material resources using the photovoltaic technology is at least 64 times that of nuclear energy. For the production of the solar-grade silicon for one square meter of panel area it requires 3.5 kg of concentrated hydrochloric acid.
If solar is so good the supporters need to install on their residence and disconnect from the grid. For commercial operations like the much ballyhooed ai data centers they should do the same. But no, they want taxpayers to subsidize them and they want the utilities to be forced to take the small amount of electricity they they don’t use when their consumption is near zero at the faciiity. But the utility has issue with the quality of the power, specifically the inverter conversion to line voltage and cycles to match the utilities local distribution system. Tye large commercial solar plants are a whole other ballgame, with power quality an issue; the cost and subsidies grow to an unfathomable amount. Then we have the land waste issue as these plants have no other use. But what about the life of solar? The cheap panels fail as frequently as the installation/sales company goes out of business. The commercial plants are not demonstrating anything near the advertised lifetime.
The overall cost to benefit analysis is why the large power users are not putting solar on their facilities. The technology has been around for a long time and has not overcome the practicality hurdle.
You like solar - then install it and pay an exorbitant price but don’t look to me to finance your poor decision!
And farmer's hate them. First off the big solar multi-national pays some landowner to put solar panels on good farmland. The landowner must sign an agreement that they must say only positive things about the solar installation, if they don't they forfeit all lease payments, while the solar company continues to rake in massive public subsidies.
So the solar plant takes that producing farmland out of food production which in turn helps to create food scarcity = high prices and more crises the oligarchy can exploit and more profit for vulture capitalists. Then the producing farmers who are adjacent to the solar farm have their insurance premiums boosted to upwards of $70k/yr because they are liable to damage to an expensive solar plant if they start a grass fire (i.e. a pump catches fire). They can go bankrupt when they can't afford the insurance premiums or the $millions in damages to the solar company. Which then just buys them out at a bargain price and installs more solar panels, getting more massive government subsidies. More food production removed.
This reminds me once again. Global Banking Cartel minion Henry Kissinger: " To control the energy supply is to control the nation, to control the food supply is to control the people".
Are you able to post comments on STT? Every time I try (hit the send button) I'm taken to WordPress's login screen, evne if I'm already logged in. I successfully log in, but then my comment never appears. It used to work. I don't see as many comments as I remember, although it was never a busy site. I'm wondering if others are having the same issue.
Solar panels can wear out over time due to a number of factors, including:
Weathering
Solar panels are exposed to rain, snow, ice, hail, high temperatures, and strong winds. These conditions can cause frame corrosion, microcracks, cell contamination, and hardening of the crystalline silicon. Snow can also freeze and cause microcracks if left on the panels.
UV exposure
Solar panels can degrade by 0.5–3% per year due to exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Electrical components
Faulty wiring, loose connections, and junction box adhesion failures can cause issues.
Quality
Low-quality materials, such as thin aluminum frames, can break more easily and lead to reduced efficiency and increased maintenance costs.
Assembly
The way a panel is assembled can affect its lifespan if the materials don't work well together.
I was hoping for some actual analysis of how they fail in practice. I’ve seen pictures of hailstorm destruction and irate ethnic villagers with hammers for instance. This study looked hopeful but is behind a paywall https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214785322072054
On a personal level solar garden lights are universally useless - they are potted in some resin that goes opaque after a year or two. I messed with a thin film (black stuff etched onto aluminium) solar panel and a car battery, and it didn’t survive a year in the sun, but I have no experience of commercial solar kit.
There are 2 reports on solar panels and testing - the last one by CEA, that 83% of panels now have line cracks and microcracks. That is an issue since it will then form hotspots.... I cannot find the link anymore for this - but I have it download. Message me if you want it. here is some info from their site.
One of my favorites is houses foolishly built close to golf courses with solar panels on the roof. Does my heart good to see all the circular fractures.
Solar panels are able to turn (some) sunlight into electricity because of a careful arrangement of atoms of impurities in crystals of silicon. Over time, and especially with exposure to sunlight, these incredibly delicate, atomic level structures break down, atoms migrate, crystals forget which cube they're in, the out layers of silicon (glass) become less transparent.
All of this contributes to a declining efficiency that starts the moment you expose the things to light.
Almost nothing is recyclable. In theory, the majority of the material is basically glass, purified silicon, but the silicon has been impregnated with heavy metal impurities (those atomic level structures) and getting the impurities back out is almost impossible and very expensive (energy intensive).
Last time I looked, solar panels are not economically recyclable, and some parts cannot be recycled at all. And let’s not even get started on windmills…
Expensive though. You have to get a special quote for removal/replacement and recycle fee. Very few people do that. A lot cheaper to throw them in the landfill. You can recycle everything for a price, problem is the price is usually uneconomical.
There are 2 facilities in Texas -1 is solarcycle.us but their version of recycle means sending them on to other countries to reuse after their useful life here. Many are Not actually "recycled", it is much more expensive. They say they can handle 1 million panels a year. The hail damaged site in south Texas would have had about 1 million panels - not reusable. There are 3 other sites I know of that have damage.
BTW, I assume that top photo of the hundreds of floating solar panels is fake? If it's not fake, I'd sure like to know more about it and where it is...
The first time I met a solar representative they were lying... that started my fight, hate to hear someone lying total nonsense.
The last time I heard one speak was at a senate hearing, and for someone representing his industry he knew nothing.... maybe because he didn't want to lie on record or under oath.
Well he did a little one... 6acres/MW which they all spout.... "the panels are more efficient now"....
This has been their mantra for a while, who checks? Really - some do the research - it's between 8 - 11 acres of LEASED land, depending on terrain and not just what is covered by panels, there is much more to a solar facility than what is covered! That's the amount of leased acreage taken out of agricultural production.
If solar is so good the supporters need to install on their residence and disconnect from the grid. For commercial operations like the much ballyhooed ai data centers they should do the same. But no, they want taxpayers to subsidize them and they want the utilities to be forced to take the small amount of electricity they they don’t use when their consumption is near zero at the faciiity. But the utility has issue with the quality of the power, specifically the inverter conversion to line voltage and cycles to match the utilities local distribution system. Tye large commercial solar plants are a whole other ballgame, with power quality an issue; the cost and subsidies grow to an unfathomable amount. Then we have the land waste issue as these plants have no other use. But what about the life of solar? The cheap panels fail as frequently as the installation/sales company goes out of business. The commercial plants are not demonstrating anything near the advertised lifetime.
The overall cost to benefit analysis is why the large power users are not putting solar on their facilities. The technology has been around for a long time and has not overcome the practicality hurdle.
You like solar - then install it and pay an exorbitant price but don’t look to me to finance your poor decision!
If that was possible it would be great!
One of the many lies about “greener, renewable, more efficient and affordable “ energy.
Then there is Mother Nature who hates solar energy. Hail storms take these things out by the acre.
Of course they’re lying, their lips are moving…
And farmer's hate them. First off the big solar multi-national pays some landowner to put solar panels on good farmland. The landowner must sign an agreement that they must say only positive things about the solar installation, if they don't they forfeit all lease payments, while the solar company continues to rake in massive public subsidies.
So the solar plant takes that producing farmland out of food production which in turn helps to create food scarcity = high prices and more crises the oligarchy can exploit and more profit for vulture capitalists. Then the producing farmers who are adjacent to the solar farm have their insurance premiums boosted to upwards of $70k/yr because they are liable to damage to an expensive solar plant if they start a grass fire (i.e. a pump catches fire). They can go bankrupt when they can't afford the insurance premiums or the $millions in damages to the solar company. Which then just buys them out at a bargain price and installs more solar panels, getting more massive government subsidies. More food production removed.
https://stopthesethings.com/2024/04/22/farmers-uninsurable-risk-solar-factory-neighbours-face-total-financial-ruin/
This reminds me once again. Global Banking Cartel minion Henry Kissinger: " To control the energy supply is to control the nation, to control the food supply is to control the people".
Are you able to post comments on STT? Every time I try (hit the send button) I'm taken to WordPress's login screen, evne if I'm already logged in. I successfully log in, but then my comment never appears. It used to work. I don't see as many comments as I remember, although it was never a busy site. I'm wondering if others are having the same issue.
I haven't tried.
Thanks. I appreciate the reply.
What “wears out” in a solar panel? And what is recyclable, if anything?
Here you go:
AI Overview
Learn more
…
Solar panels can wear out over time due to a number of factors, including:
Weathering
Solar panels are exposed to rain, snow, ice, hail, high temperatures, and strong winds. These conditions can cause frame corrosion, microcracks, cell contamination, and hardening of the crystalline silicon. Snow can also freeze and cause microcracks if left on the panels.
UV exposure
Solar panels can degrade by 0.5–3% per year due to exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Electrical components
Faulty wiring, loose connections, and junction box adhesion failures can cause issues.
Quality
Low-quality materials, such as thin aluminum frames, can break more easily and lead to reduced efficiency and increased maintenance costs.
Assembly
The way a panel is assembled can affect its lifespan if the materials don't work well together.
I was hoping for some actual analysis of how they fail in practice. I’ve seen pictures of hailstorm destruction and irate ethnic villagers with hammers for instance. This study looked hopeful but is behind a paywall https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214785322072054
On a personal level solar garden lights are universally useless - they are potted in some resin that goes opaque after a year or two. I messed with a thin film (black stuff etched onto aluminium) solar panel and a car battery, and it didn’t survive a year in the sun, but I have no experience of commercial solar kit.
There are 2 reports on solar panels and testing - the last one by CEA, that 83% of panels now have line cracks and microcracks. That is an issue since it will then form hotspots.... I cannot find the link anymore for this - but I have it download. Message me if you want it. here is some info from their site.
https://www.cea3.com/cea-blog/unveiling-the-invisible-performance-thief-cell-cracking-in-solar-pv-systems
One of my favorites is houses foolishly built close to golf courses with solar panels on the roof. Does my heart good to see all the circular fractures.
Ah but many mobile phones carry on working with cracked screens!
Solar panels are able to turn (some) sunlight into electricity because of a careful arrangement of atoms of impurities in crystals of silicon. Over time, and especially with exposure to sunlight, these incredibly delicate, atomic level structures break down, atoms migrate, crystals forget which cube they're in, the out layers of silicon (glass) become less transparent.
All of this contributes to a declining efficiency that starts the moment you expose the things to light.
Almost nothing is recyclable. In theory, the majority of the material is basically glass, purified silicon, but the silicon has been impregnated with heavy metal impurities (those atomic level structures) and getting the impurities back out is almost impossible and very expensive (energy intensive).
Last time I looked, solar panels are not economically recyclable, and some parts cannot be recycled at all. And let’s not even get started on windmills…
It looks like someone is having a go - https://www.recyclesolar.co.uk
Expensive though. You have to get a special quote for removal/replacement and recycle fee. Very few people do that. A lot cheaper to throw them in the landfill. You can recycle everything for a price, problem is the price is usually uneconomical.
There are 2 facilities in Texas -1 is solarcycle.us but their version of recycle means sending them on to other countries to reuse after their useful life here. Many are Not actually "recycled", it is much more expensive. They say they can handle 1 million panels a year. The hail damaged site in south Texas would have had about 1 million panels - not reusable. There are 3 other sites I know of that have damage.
BTW, I assume that top photo of the hundreds of floating solar panels is fake? If it's not fake, I'd sure like to know more about it and where it is...
Great points! I'll surely use some of this detail in my own posts -thanks.
But I don't know how concrete is involved? Could you explain?
The first time I met a solar representative they were lying... that started my fight, hate to hear someone lying total nonsense.
The last time I heard one speak was at a senate hearing, and for someone representing his industry he knew nothing.... maybe because he didn't want to lie on record or under oath.
Well he did a little one... 6acres/MW which they all spout.... "the panels are more efficient now"....
This has been their mantra for a while, who checks? Really - some do the research - it's between 8 - 11 acres of LEASED land, depending on terrain and not just what is covered by panels, there is much more to a solar facility than what is covered! That's the amount of leased acreage taken out of agricultural production.