Only people who spend most of their life in densely crowded cities could think that the planet has so little space that you'd need to grow crops underneath solar panels for efficiency's sake.
Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
21–30 of 226 posts
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#22There's no shortage of open area to put solar panels. If we put a (nearly) continuous strip in every highway median, that would be a huge step forward, and still take up practically zero useable space. Even 1% of the federally owned land in the sun belt would generate an enormous amount of power.
The solar panels on roads idea has been tried. Rotting leaves were a big source of its failure.
https://www.businessinsider.com/first-solar-road-france-fail...
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#23Only people who spend most of their life in densely crowded cities could think that the planet has so little space that you'd need to grow crops underneath solar panels for efficiency's sake.
Indeed. This reminds me of the "let's drive on top of our panels" stupidity. I suppose it could have practical applications in space colonization.
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#24There's no shortage of open area to put solar panels. If we put a (nearly) continuous strip in every highway median, that would be a huge step forward, and still take up practically zero useable space. Even 1% of the federally owned land in the sun belt would generate an enormous amount of power.
The solar panels on roads idea has been tried. Rotting leaves were a big source of its failure. https://www.businessinsider.com/first-solar-road-france-fail...
Doesn’t matter. Much of the US roads aren’t anywhere near trees - ie the southwest. Huge amount of roads and solar power potential there too. Also, cleaning crews are a thing that have existed in the past and should again.
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#25Only people who spend most of their life in densely crowded cities could think that the planet has so little space that you'd need to grow crops underneath solar panels for efficiency's sake.
It's not "need" as much as increasing efficiency and profit. There are at least a few studies now that have shown that multipurpose use for both agriculture and solar will provide greater output than doing only one; for example you may lose 30% of maximum potential solar production and 40% of agricultural output, but it's still not >50% loss for either. These studies were not performed with this type of semi-transparent as in this article, so perhaps the boost could be larger, if the additional cost of the panels is not too high.
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it’s unlikely you see any fossil generation in the mix in 10 years except in the most remote of locations (with no solar or wind potential). Wind and solar are already around 2 cents/kWh utility scale, and batteries are catching up. No fossil or nuclear generation can compete with that.
Source? I don't disagree, would just like to share this information with friends :)
Commenting as a reminder to self to return with a model.
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#27Only people who spend most of their life in densely crowded cities could think that the planet has so little space that you'd need to grow crops underneath solar panels for efficiency's sake.
1. Agriculture is one of the main causes of deforestation.
2. Many plants are already grown in greenhouses.
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Solar panels on home roofs aren't necessarily configured to power the house without the grid. Also you would additionally need batteries and related hardware to have a usable source of power at any time, so unless your house is set up for off-grid solar, you still need the grid to be managed well.
Found this out in the house we are renting with solar panels installed by landlord. Bright sunny day, someone hits a pole nearby, power goes out. There are two kinds of solar: one that adds to the existing signal from the mains, or one that is self-contained. The second kind is more complicated and therefore expensive. I wasn't aware of the distinction before, but I definitely am now.
Aren't there setups that can do both as well? i.e charge battery first and send excess to the grid?
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
The solar panels on roads idea has been tried. Rotting leaves were a big source of its failure. https://www.businessinsider.com/first-solar-road-france-fail...
Doesn’t matter. Much of the US roads aren’t anywhere near trees - ie the southwest. Huge amount of roads and solar power potential there too. Also, cleaning crews are a thing that have existed in the past and should again.
Replace leaves with tumbleweeds. Or whatever natural debris we have in the west.
The leaves were causing damage to the solar panels. I imagine other types of debris would do the same.
But I'd be happy to be wrong. Have you asked why this hasn't already been done yet? Or if it has (besides the example I provided), what was the outcome?
Re: Semi-transparent solar panels allow concurrent production of crops and power
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Found this out in the house we are renting with solar panels installed by landlord. Bright sunny day, someone hits a pole nearby, power goes out. There are two kinds of solar: one that adds to the existing signal from the mains, or one that is self-contained. The second kind is more complicated and therefore expensive. I wasn't aware of the distinction before, but I definitely am now.
Aren't there setups that can do both as well? i.e charge battery first and send excess to the grid?
Sure but they are more expensive. You need a rock solid controller with beefy and redundant electronics to make sure you're never going to be connected to the grid when you shouldn't be.