Anyone live near a solar Farm?

[paulsharvey]

Oh, not to go into solar good vs solar bad, solar carports at businesses probably IS a good thing.

Im of the little bit of coal, oil, NG, nuke, hydro, solar, heck, even wind (if someone could make that work...). We can't go full solar, nor should we even if we could. Small modular, package nuclear is a good option too, if it wasnt for the permitting and public issues

 

[paulsharvey]

But, this thread is largely about how distributive/annoying/troublesome is solar farm near your residence, not economics of it.

The construction is intensive, but once over, low impact on daily life.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Last Year, there was a proposal to put a large solar farm, 1/4 mile from my property, on steep rocky land not suitable for agriculture. I attended the township meetings and even obtained a set of plans. I listening to the pitch made by the solar company, other property owners, and reviewed the pros and cons online. It wouldn't be visible from my house and likely wouldn't affect my property value, so I had no objections to the plan.

I was surprised to find the project was scrapped due to objections from residents in a development across the valley, a half mile away. They were concerned about the reflection of the sun off the surface of the panels that would be directed toward them during the afternoon.

I found some reference to the issue online, but have passed many solar installations and have not noticed this glare. Apparently, even with the anti glare surface of the panels, it can be an issue in certain circumstances.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, just for laughs, if we deleted Washington DC, and ita 68 square miles, we could generate 6,500 MW, or 5.5m homes. With some efficiency upgrades, and smart planning, we could power Maryland, just by bulldozing DC. Add a couple small modular nuke reactors, and we power Maryland and Virginia, with no loss of anything productive

Edit: maybe we can crowd source the funds; start a GoFundMe account..

 

[rontaki]

If one is against nuclear power, they must consider that the Sun is a nuclear power plant. Even wind is powered by the Sun.

 

[paulsharvey]

For low impact, there are smaller NG power plants with a very low foot print (John R Kelley plant, GRU, Gainesville FL), which you might drive by and wonder what it is, Now, its a baby, 119 MW,. But footprint, it fits in a 640 ft x 640 ft square. Price wise? It dates from 1920s, and has had multiple refits, over hauls, ect.

Given the choice between being right next to one, I'd take solar, as there are maybe weekly visits by maintenance. They are Low impact once finished

Now, for what i want my powr company to use/buy/build, whatever is the absolute cheapest per MW they can..

 

[paulsharvey]

.

 

[DarkBlack]

Also, given the choice, I would rather be next to a solar field than a wind farm

 

[paulsharvey]

Point being,
1) smarter people then us plan these $1b+ projects, and the look ahead, cost structure, and Yes, tax burden
2) What works and / or makes sense in N FLa may not in N Dak.
3) Variety is good, from a resource cost hardening, national security, geographical,
4) You/we, largely have zero say,
5) Most of us just want the lights to work, as cheaply as possible

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I feel we need diverse sources of power. There are pros and cons to each, and diversity helps create a constant flow of energy given different challenges that each may encounter. i.e. if Mount Saint Helen blows up again, solar will be greatly reduced, same as NG and oil when some wacko decides to destroy some pipelines...

 

[ericm979]

If one is against nuclear power, they must consider that the Sun is a nuclear power plant. Even wind is powered by the Sun.

If nuclear plants would be immune from earthquakes, store their own waste for the next 10 billion years and be totally free I'd be all for them!

 

[gsganzer]

I feel we need diverse sources of power. There are pros and cons to each, and diversity helps create a constant flow of energy given different challenges that each may encounter. i.e. if Mount Saint Helen blows up again, solar will be greatly reduced, same as NG and oil when some wacko decides to destroy some pipelines...

I've always said that the power generation industry is like a 3-legged stool. You need reliability, sustainability and cost. None of the power types provide all three on their own. But all together they do.

You can even make the argument that there's a 4th leg, national security, and again diversity is the safeguard.

One of the benefits of coal is you can have a 30, 60, 90 day supply, or more, sitting at the point of use as a safeguard against weather, union strikes etc.

 

[gsganzer]

If nuclear plants would be immune from earthquakes, store their own waste for the next 10 billion years and be totally free I'd be all for them!

All the nuclear plants operating in this country are 1950's technology. I think the modern nuclear plants are fueled differently and don't have the same spent fuel issues. The new plants also have some safety systems that use the law of physics to contain the reaction, rather than relying on cooling pumps and other controls.

Molten Salt Reactor

 

[ponytug]

.View attachment 4112154

I'm not sure where these numbers came from, but they don't seem to align with other sources, e.g. NREL;
$1,500/kW for utility scale PV capex

Utility-Scale PV | Electricity | 2024 | ATB | NLR

atb.nrel.gov

($3,000/kW for residential PV capex)
Other technologies here;

Technologies | Electricity | 2024 | ATB | NLR

atb.nrel.gov

All the best,

Peter

 

[paulsharvey]

I'm not sure where these numbers came from, but they don't seem to align with other sources, e.g. NREL;
$1,500/kW for utility scale PV capex

Utility-Scale PV | Electricity | 2024 | ATB | NLR

atb.nrel.gov

($3,000/kW for residential PV capex)
Other technologies here;

Technologies | Electricity | 2024 | ATB | NLR

atb.nrel.gov

All the best,

Peter

A quick Google search, and thats the first thing I found. I dont vouch for the source, or the results; but its not like Solar farms are Vastly out of the range, when you consider the low operating costs. Ugly, maybe; the best thing available, maybe not; but they arent simply a dumb idea. Maybe not the best idea, but not the worst either.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I worry that we might overload the Sun. Does anyone know where the breaker or fuse is, and how to reset or replace it?

its on the other side of the Sun. In the shade.

 

[ponytug]

All the nuclear plants operating in this country are 1950's technology. I think the modern nuclear plants are fueled differently and don't have the same spent fuel issues. The new plants also have some safety systems that use the law of physics to contain the reaction, rather than relying on cooling pumps and other controls.

Molten Salt Reactor

Depending on the fuel type they still have spent fuel issues, and containment vessel disposal issues. The fuel recycling is easier than that of water cooled reactors. High intensity radiation does eventually make many previous inert items radioactive, including the sodium.

However, I think sodium fast breeder reactors have the unsexy problem of containing and purifying the sodium during operation. Real world experience suggests this is not trivial.

Sodium also has the issue of being flammable, and of generating hydrogen gas when meeting water. There were five sodium fires at the French Phénix sodium cooled reactor, and the Japanese also had a sodium leak and fire at their Monju that caused a 15 year shutdown. While sodium has some intrinsically safe moderation attributes, the sodium has to stay around the core.

More here;

Mastering Sodium Reactor Technology | Aalo Updates

Cold traps, steam generators, autonomous leak repair, sodium pumps, and more… Read more on our website.

www.aalo.com

All the best,

Peter

 

[dodge man]

Like wind farms, I did a lot of surveying for solar farms. I’ve spent some time zooming around in maps a quite a few of them have built. Most but not all of them are on high quality farm ground. One was built in a small town called Sauget Illinois, which is near St. Louis on the Illinois side. Not exaggerating the town is mostly a Super Fund site. Not many homes, no farming and some heavy industrial. That’s the kind of place that’s perfect for solar farms.

 

[Jstpssng]

There's a cloverleaf on I95 which was covered with trees, preventing you from seeing oncoming traffic as you approached. They cut the trees down and put in solar panels. Now you can see what's coming long before you have to merge.

That's the kind of place which is perfect for solar farms.

 

[paulsharvey]

There's a cloverleaf on I95 which was covered with trees, preventing you from seeing oncoming traffic as you approached. They cut the trees down and put in solar panels. Now you can see what's coming long before you have to merge.

That's the kind of place which is perfect for solar farms.

California aqueduct is 705 miles long; if we figure its right of way at, 40 ft wide; we end up at 3420 acres. You top that will panels; you have both energy, but also prevent evaporation. I assume it has access roads, for maintenance?

Reading just a few seconds, its min 40 ft wide (the canal, not the row), and in areas, as wide as 110 ft; so, likely the ROW (or easements, not sure on that), is likely 200 ft.

Although, a square or rectangular is probably more efficient to build