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[Trokil]

Solar energy is on the rise, prices have dropped so much, it certain areas of the planet it is already by far the cheapest source of energy, cheaper the coal, wind and nuclear.

http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/...otovoltaik-boom-prognostiziert-a-1143145.html

Translated: Already today the sun is in some regions of the world the cheapest energy source. In Chile, Abu Dhabi and Dubai for example there will be solar fields built which will produce energy for less than 3 cents per kilowatt hour. Gas or coal can not keep up with that, nuclear even less.

In the article they quote the science study and explain that in Abu Dhabi the cost at the moment is 2,4 cents per kilowatt hour, which they expected not before 2025 till 2030. Of course this will only work if people are willing to invest money, but the technology is exiting and will develop even more.

And it will continue. Thanks to Chinese companies in the last few years prices have fallen dramatically. Also panels become more and more efficient, thanks to new research.

https://futurism.com/company-japan-just-broke-world-record-solar-panel-efficiency/

According to a new science article quoted in this article on arstechnica solar could produce up to 1/3 of the world energy by 2030.

If all of this comes to pass, the authors suggest, it's possible that the world will have somewhere over 5 Terawatts of solar capacity by 2030. And, if we get there, we'd have the manufacturing capacity to install another Terawatt annually throughout the 2030s. Even if the panels only produce 30 percent of their optimal capacity, that would still take a big chunk of global power demand, which currently requires about 15TW of generating capacity.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/whats-next-for-solar-energy/

The Kyoto researchers are 26,6% at the moment so 30% within the next 13 years seems to be conservative estimate. Also Trump can not stop that train anymore, even with all the coal laws and all the screaming and kicking from his administration against the trend solar is taking over, even in places like Texas or Alaska.

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2017/03/30/solar-power-jobs-on-the-rise-in-texas/

https://www.adn.com/business-econom...solar-power-as-prices-fall-and-benefits-grow/

The only thing that could happen is, that western countries the US especially could lose more ground to Chinese companies, because they still believe in old fashioned energy like fossil fuels, while the world is moving and solar is getting cheaper and cheaper and more and more efficent.

 

[uncelestial]

Coal, though.

 

[Majine]

Coal, though.

CLEAN COAL.

It has clean in the name, so you know it's good.

 

[Rentahamster]

Faster please.

 

[OrlanisWorks]

[praise the sun]

If only I could afford a house where I can have solar panels.

Keep up the good work, science.

 

[uncelestial]

CLEAN COAL.

It has clean in the name, so you know it's good.

I brush my teeth with it!

 

[SRG01]

I'm thinking of getting a set of solar panels within the next two years... we have a corner lot that faces south, so it's perfect for solar

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

India is doing great stuff with solar and other renewables too.

 

[Trokil]

[praise the sun]

If only I could afford a house where I can have solar panels.

Keep up the good work, science.

There are already panels for your balcony and it if your out of your apartment the energy will be feed into the grid, saving you money. Not every country has the technology for that, but pretty much everybody could install them today.

 

[Hickbilly Deluxe]

I wanted to get them installed on my house, and looked into it. City ordinance against them, so it went all of nowhere.

I am never buying a house in this town again.

 

[Gallbaro]

Hold our beer.

 

[pa22word]

Coal, though.

Fluffing coal workers was actually kind of a heinously smart move by trump.

He could promise them all this stuff about ending the regulations, which he'll likely do, but it's not going to matter anyways because the free market is killing coal faster than the government ever could (which is exactly what I told everyone last year who voted for trump anyways *sigh*). Same way with rust belt people, really. He might trash china around on tariffs (which I guess not anymore, lol) but even if he did it'd just result in less jobs overseas in result for more automated jobs here, with the net of those 50 yr old Ford Auto workers still sitting at home collecting welfare checks.

I mean if you have no moral center and have no problem taking a dump on millions of people it's not a bad campaign to run.

 

[shira]

Sun tuk er jerbs

 

[muu]

Oregon had some great tax credits and Energy Trust rebates on solar which, combined w/ federal tax credit which is still good for this year, means that panels I'm installing will have a ~5yr return. It's no wonder I've seen panels pop up left and right.

There are states that are outright killing net metering which is absolutely stupid, but that's corporate interest from power companies for ya.

 

[ColdPizza]

Prizes? I like prizes.

 

[Alchemy]

Well at least theres some positive stuff happening this year

 

[Oblivion]

So, you can not stop solar energy anymore #1

Trump: hold my beer

 

[Lunar15]

What's funny is that we keep removing all these regulations on coal when that's not really what stopped the growth of coal: Natural Gas and Renewables stopped the growth of coal and there's no indication that this is ever going to reverse.

 

[l2ounD]

Prizes? I like prizes.

Prizes dont grow on trees

 

[Dylan Sexbang]

Close friend of mine works in solar, got the job straight of high school. Worked hard, transferred companies twice and is now happy on salary at a good company with only a high school degree. This is the job coal workers should've been begging for, but they didn't want to hear it

 

[D4Danger]

I guess the only obstacle now is land. It's all very well building solar farms in the middle of the desert.

 

[Poppy]

i mean it seems like a no brainer to utilize the ginormous nuclear reactor in space bombarding us with more energy than we could ever currently use, but then again i do like setting shit i dig out of the ground on fire

 

[CrocMother]

I guess the only obstacle now is land. It's all very well building solar farms in the middle of the desert.

The fact that it's intermittent is a huge obstacle. It means that we will still be relying on carbon based energy into the foreseeable future.

 

[pa22word]

Close friend of mine works in solar, got the job straight of high school. Worked hard, transferred companies twice and is now happy on salary at a good company with only a high school degree. This is the job coal workers should've been begging for, but they didn't want to hear it

Solar is never going to put as much people to work as coal did in Appalachia though, which is ultimately the real problem.

 

[Lautaro]

Spoiler

Couldn't find an animated one

 

[Gallbaro]

Solar is never going to put as much people to work as coal did in Appalachia though, which is ultimately the real problem.

That and it does not put them to work in their communities. It is the same reason these people dont' give a fuck about the retraining programs the dems promise. It does not put them back to work in their communities, but has them leaving their communities.

 

[Regulus Tera]

You underestimate the most powerful entity in the universe: oil lobbyists.

 

[Kthulhu]

Solar is never going to put as much people to work as coal did in Appalachia though, which is ultimately the real problem.

There's not much anyone can do about that other than ensure the social safety net can help them.

It's either them keeping their jobs, or the planet dies.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

 

[Feep]

The fact that it's intermittent is a huge obstacle. It means that we will still be relying on carbon based energy into the foreseeable future.

No, it isn't.

Turns out most electricity use is during the day, and we also have these things called batteries, and also these things called other forms of energy production besides solar to help shore it up (wind, nuclear, and yes, even some old carbon as well).

 

[Ac30]

The fact that it's intermittent is a huge obstacle. It means that we will still be relying on carbon based energy into the foreseeable future.

Until we somehow develop large scale energy storage.

Wasn't Elon on that?

 

[LeonSPBR]

I brush my teeth with it!

Oh god this gif.... WHY!!!!!

 

[Oblivion]

No, it isn't.

Turns out most electricity use is during the day, and we also have these things called batteries, and also these things called other forms of energy production besides solar.

Also, apparently even on cloudy days solar panels can collect around 90% of all light on a sunny day.

 

[Jenov]

Nice. I've been waiting on the prices to go a lot further down before deciding to buy some panels. This is encouraging.

 

[Trokil]

Until we somehow develop large scale energy storage.

Wasn't Elon on that?

He is

http://www.theneweconomy.com/energy/tesla-branches-out-into-energy-storage

 

[Rhomega Beta]

CLEAN COAL.

It has clean in the name, so you know it's good.

Do thwy wash it with Palmolive before they throw it in the furnace?

 

[ColdPizza]

Stock tip, time. Start investing in these guys. Ticker is OPVS. Buy 1000 shares for under $1 and forget about them for 10 years. I'll be waiting for your thank you PMs.


http://www.nanoflexpower.com/technology

 

[bebop242]

Spoiler

Couldn't find an animated one

This is what I came in here for.

 

[Daedardus]

No, it isn't.

Turns out most electricity use is during the day, and we also have these things called batteries, and also these things called other forms of energy production besides solar to help shore it up (wind, nuclear, and yes, even some old carbon as well).

It still is. Installed capacity versus energy produced is still very low for renewables. For example they make up more than 30% of the capacity in some European countries but only count for 10% of the energy produced. Balancing load and demand is a very tricky job and pure renewable is still too unpredectable for that. Batteries won't cut the job, they cost too much, take up way too much space and require a lot of maintenance. Artificial water basins are the most promising technology but are not feasible everywhere. There needs to be a lot done to the grid before renewables can be safely used, but we're getting there. It'l still a take before we have a secure grid and it will cost a lot, but grid regulators are starting to realise it is necessary. Source: I'm a power engineer.

 

[Earthbound64]

That's all well and good, but what do we do when the sun becomes a white dwarf?
Checkmate.

 

[Famassu]

No, it isn't.

Turns out most electricity use is during the day, and we also have these things called batteries, and also these things called other forms of energy production besides solar to help shore it up (wind, nuclear, and yes, even some old carbon as well).

We don't even necessarily need batteries. Other methods of storing energy exist too. Like, if we get to a point where there is a lot of excess energy from solar during the day, one way to store it would be to use that excess energy to move water up to some kind of storage for the day. Then, during the night when solar doesn't work, that water can be let flow back down again and let gravity do its thing and create electricity through turbines much like tech we are using in hydroelectic power plants today.

 

[Trokil]

We don't even necessarily need batteries. Other methods of storing energy exist too. Like, if we get to a point where there is a lot of excess energy from solar during the day, one way to store it would be to use that excess energy to move water up to some kind of storage for the day. Then, during the night when solar doesn't work, that water can be let flow back down again and let gravity do its thing and create electricity through turbines much like tech we are using in hydroelectic power plants today.

We already do that today, for example in Switzerland they use the cheap electricity during the summer to pump water back up into hydro-electric power plants. This is also existing technology.

 

[pa22word]

There's not much anyone can do about that other than ensure the social safety net can help them.

It's either them keeping their jobs, or the planet dies.

I mean that's a fine line if you're Xi Jinping and can purge everyone who disagrees with you and have them breaking rocks in a labor camp for 16 hours a day for the rest of their lives, but if you're trying to run on a national platform you need a more effective messaging campaign than what amounts to a shrug at people having their lives destroyed.

And no, as another poster pointed out "retraining and retooling" is poison to these people's ears because of the repeated failures such programs have produced. At best you're looking at half the money you used to make and a move that you might not be able to afford (especially if you have a family to provide for), at worst you're snorting oxy sucking up welfare checks for the rest of your life. I mean are you really that shocked these people turned to an alternate choice, even if it was bullshit, when dems were selling the same old shit that they saw their buddies at the plant next town over buy into and got buried by?

 

[Kthulhu]

I mean that's a fine line if you're Xi Jinping and can purge everyone who disagrees with you and have them breaking rocks in a labor camp for 16 hours a day for the rest of their lives, but if you're trying to run on a national platform you need a more effective messaging campaign than what amounts to a shrug at people having their lives destroyed.

And no, as another poster pointed out "retraining and retooling" is poison to these people's ears because of the repeated failures such programs have produced. At best you're looking at half the money you used to make and a move that you might not be able to afford (especially if you have a family to provide for), at worst you're snorting oxy sucking up welfare checks for the rest of your life.

I never said it's an easy sell.

 

[AstroNut325]

I'm planning solar on my roof in 3 years. Just saving up for now. Might do it in 2 years. I care for the survival of us humans and I want to give a huge middle finger to Trump and company.

 

[Pancake Mix]

How will this work in areas that don't get much direct sunlight? Asking for a friend.

Would seem like there's nothing to stop in much of the world (i.e., places that aren't deserts near the equator). I know Alaska was also mentioned, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Mindlog]

Excess solar to hydrogen. Let's go.

 

[M52B28]

Oh god this gif.... WHY!!!!!

It's powdered coal for teeth whitening.

 

[Famassu]

We already do that today, for example in Switzerland they use the cheap electricity during the summer to pump water back up into hydro-electric power plants. This is also existing technology.

I know the tech exists (I mean, I literally wrote "other energy storage methods exist" ), just meant that it could be taken into wider use with renewables especially, wherever possible.

 

[pa22word]

I never said it's an easy sell.

I mean at the end of the day I agree with you whole heartedly, but I don't think it's really possible to just brush these people aside and keep trucking when we live in a system that affords them tons of political power.

Unfortunately with trump in the WH their lives aren't going to be getting any better and are just going to get worse. It's one of the biggest shames about the election is that Obama did a lot and tried really hard to help these people, but no one ever heard about it during the election because it was more efficient to direct them to a website and drink margaritas with donors in cali than get off a bus and talk to these people like Obama did.

We just really need to focus more into finding a plausible alternative for these people that actually speaks to them. Problem is, what is it? I don't really have a good answer either. Even infrastructure, the magic bullet everyone keeps talking about, is mostly a bandaid.