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We're going to need a lot of solar panels

caseyhandmer.wordpress.com

501–510 of 842 posts

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#501
post #499

I think electrolysing water into hydrogen using excess solar in the winter, then using that directly for heating in the winter would make a lot of sense.

Hydrogen is quite difficult to store, so one would have to factor those costs in the before deciding.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#502
post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you think that Microsoft stock price wouldn't go down significantly if Bill Gates put 45% of the company up for sale?

He sold most of his MSFT in 2020 when stepping down from the board.

By that time, he had sold almost all of MSFT. He was a ~2% owner. That sale was a lot more similar in scale to a hedge fund selling a large block of shares than to Jeff Bezos liquidating his holdings.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#503
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this means if a hypothetical Bill Gates sold off the vast majority of the 45% of Microsoft stock he owned then the company would then be worth a lot less? It really is weird how frequently I see the view you espouse and how nobody who repeats it seems to consider the clearest, most obvious counterexample that so completely disproves it.

In 2020, as I understand it, Bill gates sold less than 1% of MSFT on the open market there: his holding went from a bit over 2% to a bit over 1%. He had been steadily selling over the last two decades. Contrast that with Jeff Bezos, who owns 10% of Amazon, or Elon Musk who owns over 20% of Tesla. Half of Gates's holding is nothing in comparison to half of Bezos's. When you sell large share blocks like Gates did, you…

Overall he sold about 44% of the company. He had about 45%.

The guy above was telling me this would drive the price down. You know what actually happened though. The share price went up.

The "billionaire shares are imaginary meme" is just a rhetorical trick designed to confuse the economically illiterate.

The only interesting thing about this meme is figuring out where it came from and how it was so efficiently pumped into the public consciousness.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they're trying to say that insulation (and probably other factors) is not just one person's problem but an issue of a huge scale, which is true. If solar works for you, then that's great, but for a lot of people (the majority?) it wouldn't work, or at least not without spending a very large amount of money to retrofit your house for it. I think it's a good point even if stated quite poorly.

Let me put it this way: is me having solar panels making things worse for "the majority"? If so, how? Because it sounded like the usual trope that if a solution does not fix all problems for all humans everywhere, than it it sucks and the person doing what they can is a naive fool, if not a straight up villain.

That is a very strange question. Who in this discussion has said that you having solar panels will make it worse for the majority?

What comments in this discussion are saying is that solar panels won't be cost effective, for some or possible the majority of people.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#505

People both underestimate and overestimate what PV can do. In summer and around noon, here in western Europe, there is so much PV-electricity produced that it is _almost_ enough to fulfill all demands. In winter, the amount is like a drop in the desert. I have built a 30 kWp PV at home 2 years ago - you would think this is quite big, for a private plant. It is not enough. If I want to power a heat pump (with drilled…

In north-west eu maybe, in south-west not so much; I have had solar for 20 years in different houses in the south and it covers more than enough all year round (we are off grid). During the days, summer and winter, you can switch on whatever as it will never run out; during the night it obviously depends on the amount and quality of batteries. I have had 1 moment without power and that was a rare event for that location: snow covering the solar panels.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you not believe in synthetic hydrocarbons? What else do you believe is a better alternative then?

Your questions are loaded. You're doing the religious person thing of "Well you don't believe in Jesus, so what do you believe in?" Just because I don't believe synthetic hydrocarbons are a good idea doesn't mean I have to have a replacement.

The point is “if there is nothing better or less bad, then we have to go for it”. Shouldn’t stop us from looking for something better though.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I calculated I would need about 70 to 80 kWp (optimized for winter sun angle, e.g. pretty steep modules at 60° or 70° that relatively produce less in summer, but more in winter). I know there are sun-following installations but those need expensive mechanics and control systems. Aren't there middle-ground solutions that can be manually adjusted twice a year?

If 70 to 80 is enough in winter,I would assume that it is enough in summer?

70-80 degree tilt will produce a lot more at latitude 45+ from Nov. 1st to end of February, but at the expense of much less production kWh per month during the rest of the year.

In an off grid totally battery reliant pv system such as for some telecom applications you design the PV for December, worst month of the year for kWh production. If it will "survive" December and provide enough for the load to run 24x7 then it'll be fine for the rest of the year. At high latitudes this cha mean a 75-80 degree tilt facing south.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#508
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the problem is the allocation of the resources in the real economy. the copper production goes somewhere currently. if half of that suddenly would go to making these super long distance cables that would cause brutal inflation for a lot of things that depend on copper. (sure, eventually it would increase supply too.)

A lot of copper goes to nonelectrical uses that could probably go away. Whenever I see something mechanical made of bronze or something it always looks like a real waste. New finishes and coatings look pretty good and composites are strong and corrosion resistant, and steel is cheaper. Not everything can be replaced but some can.

You should try a copper pan. They are great! Copper is also a very effective conductor of heat.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#509
post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wish you would expand and clarify the point you are trying to make. The problem with people enthusiastically proposing renewables as the cheap solution to our energy needs is the thousand "little" details like the one above. Whose only mention is in the comments like "your math is wrong, invest in insulation". No. The math isn't wrong. Bo, the consumption is correct and shouldn't "should be lower". Because it's d…

Well in Germany at least they have legislative requirements for insulation on new builds (and have for years). So that's an actual solution to the problem!

true, except most people don't live in new builds. As explained in other comments here, adding insulation to old buildings is highly non-trivial.

Re: We're going to need a lot of solar panels

#510
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this means if a hypothetical Bill Gates sold off the vast majority of the 45% of Microsoft stock he owned then the company would then be worth a lot less? It really is weird how frequently I see the view you espouse and how nobody who repeats it seems to consider the clearest, most obvious counterexample that so completely disproves it.

So you think that Microsoft stock price wouldn't go down significantly if Bill Gates put 45% of the company up for sale?

IIRC put 44% of the company up for sale over a period of many years and the price of microsoft stock did indeed go up during that time.

So yes, I think what would happen is what did happen.

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