Fighting 'Solar Farm' Installation

[bnold]

what statistics or publications are showing you to have bad air quality?

There are a number of sources if you care to look. I’m between Dallas and Houston on this map.

EDF

WAQI

TCEQ
https://www.texasobserver.org/coal-plants-offline-air-central-east-texas/

TDHS also has lagging indicators of higher per capita cancer rates in east and northeast Texas.

 

[Grumpycat]

I don’t mind solar panels. I would gladly replace the contiguous lot owners (they do not to be dignified with the appellation “neighbors”).

last year, we even installed a small solar power system at our house.

HOWEVER…

I do mind the preachy pseudo-religious fervor with which some worship them.

Green Wrecking Ball: Germany Clearing “Undisturbed” 1000-Year Old Forest, Make Way For Massive Wind Park

Germany’s government has not only taken a wrecking ball to the nation in terms of COVID, but also to its biodiversity in its self-deluded bid to protect the climate.

wattsupwiththat.com

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Such memes are created by people who can not balance their checkbook.

They skip over simple realities and assume a PV panel with 20 year performance warranty will be dead unusable 20 years and 1 day later. The fact is while it might have been a 240W panel and is only producing 200W, that it is still producing 200W and the only reason to replace it is to install a new higher output panel. Leave it alone, it costs nothing and is generating power.

But lets say there is now a 6 million tons/year supply of used solar panels? As Elon Musk said about used lithium batteries, "There is no richer source of raw materials." Used solar panels are about 1000 times richer in the interesting stuff than ore mined from the ground. Those darn Capitalists will step in and make a profit from used PV panels! Assuming we have any resemblance of a Capitalist Economy in 2050.

 

[bnold]

Huh?
I have no such workers and have never hired an illegal worker

We will send em north anyways, don’t worry they have a SS card and license.

 

[Grumpycat]

there are not enough rare-earth minerals to convert everything that is currently hydrocarbon-powered to electric, and certainly not enough to replace all the batteries as they reach the end of their service life.

You had me up until that statement.

Rare Earths are not rare but are simply named that to fool the gullible. The USA has more than enough known reserves, plus unknown reserves are found every day. The problem is our government will not allow these resources to be used no matter we can mine and refine these "Rare" Earths as clean as we do anything else. And certainly cleaner than anyone else.

EV batteries and motors do not consume Rare Earths. No more so than the 12V starter battery in your ICE consumes lead. At End Of Life the used item is a precious source for recycling.

 

[Grumpycat]

All the oil was and is still running through pre-existing pipelines. The XL was meant to be a money saving shortcut.

... and to increase capacity.

 

[Hay Dude]

We will send em north anyways, don’t worry they have a SS card and license.

So I don’t know what you’re trying to imply here, but I’d suggest you never again implicate me for using illegal labor as its slanderous and I do have a business to run and have customers who may read this website.

 

[Hay Dude]

Such memes are created by people who can not balance their checkbook.

They skip over simple realities and assume a PV panel with 20 year performance warranty will be dead unusable 20 years and 1 day later. The fact is while it might have been a 240W panel and is only producing 200W, that it is still producing 200W and the only reason to replace it is to install a new higher output panel. Leave it alone, it costs nothing and is generating power.

But let’s say there is now a 6 million tons/year supply of used solar panels? As Elon Musk said about used lithium batteries, "There is no richer source of raw materials." Used solar panels are about 1000 times richer in the interesting stuff than ore mined from the ground. Those darn Capitalists will step in and make a profit from used PV panels! Assuming we have any resemblance of a Capitalist Economy in 2050.

Capitalist? What are you talking about? We don’t now in 2023.

 

[Grumpycat]

Capitalist? What are you talking about? We don’t now in 2023.

We are State Capitalists.

Facebook did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.
Toyota did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.
Polaris did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.

Tesla did not take over an abandoned GM-Toyota automobile factory in Fremont CA without government concessions.

 

[WM75Guy]

Same here.

Solar, Utility and Diesel Backup for the house/shop

Utility is served from solar, wind, hydro, battery storage, NG, Coal and Lignite, and Nuclear here.

Luckily our Coal and Lignite usage is reducing fast.

At peak today ERCOT was 49% solar/wind, 33% NG, 11% Coal and Lignite and 7% Nuclear.

At min load today 48% wind, 29% NG, 12% Coal and Lignite and 11% Nuclear.

Don't take this wrong, I am all for wind and solar, but we still have a long way to go to get wind/solar to supply our needs in Texas. I looked at the ERCOT website, your numbers are a little off. Peak demand today was at 1705 and wind/solar was supplying 33.4%, NG was supplying 45.9%. Currently with demand down, wind alone is providing 34.4%, which is good. NG is still providing the most with 44.7%. When the sun goes down and solar doesn't provide any supply, at least demand goes down to compensate for it.

 

[KilroyJC]

None of it would have done anything for the average person in the US.

That isn’t how markets work…

 

[KilroyJC]

We are State Capitalists.

Facebook did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.
Toyota did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.
Polaris did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.

Tesla did not take over an abandoned GM-Toyota automobile factory in Fremont CA without government concessions.

The government is too big when it is in the position to make such concessions.

 

[KilroyJC]

Such memes are created by people who can not balance their checkbook.

They skip over simple realities and assume a PV panel with 20 year performance warranty will be dead unusable 20 years and 1 day later. The fact is while it might have been a 240W panel and is only producing 200W, that it is still producing 200W and the only reason to replace it is to install a new higher output panel. Leave it alone, it costs nothing and is generating power.

But lets say there is now a 6 million tons/year supply of used solar panels? As Elon Musk said about used lithium batteries, "There is no richer source of raw materials." Used solar panels are about 1000 times richer in the interesting stuff than ore mined from the ground. Those darn Capitalists will step in and make a profit from used PV panels! Assuming we have any resemblance of a Capitalist Economy in 2050.

I did mention that materials are recyclable, somewhere above.

but how much energy-and what energy source will be used- to recycle those materials? And where will said recycling be performed?

 

[KilroyJC]

You had me up until that statement.

Rare Earths are not rare but are simply named that to fool the gullible. The USA has more than enough known reserves, plus unknown reserves are found every day. The problem is our government will not allow these resources to be used no matter we can mine and refine these "Rare" Earths as clean as we do anything else. And certainly cleaner than anyone else.

EV batteries and motors do not consume Rare Earths. No more so than the 12V starter battery in your ICE consumes lead. At End Of Life the used item is a precious source for recycling.

Proportionally They are rare compared to “common” materials, but part of what makes them rare is the concentration in ores (how much is extractable per ton?) and how complicated the process for extraction/refining is.

But yea - the government just loves putting things off limits so we are dependent on foreign sources that generally don’t like us…

 

[KilroyJC]

You had me up until that statement.

Rare Earths are not rare but are simply named that to fool the gullible. The USA has more than enough known reserves, plus unknown reserves are found every day. The problem is our government will not allow these resources to be used no matter we can mine and refine these "Rare" Earths as clean as we do anything else. And certainly cleaner than anyone else.

EV batteries and motors do not consume Rare Earths. No more so than the 12V starter battery in your ICE consumes lead. At End Of Life the used item is a precious source for recycling.

Isn’t lithium a “rare earth” -derived metal?

And we don’t produce any lead anymore, either.

And probably never will, since the pumps were shut off and the shafts were allowed to flood…

 

[KilroyJC]

Such memes are created by people who can not balance their checkbook.

They skip over simple realities and assume a PV panel with 20 year performance warranty will be dead unusable 20 years and 1 day later. The fact is while it might have been a 240W panel and is only producing 200W, that it is still producing 200W and the only reason to replace it is to install a new higher output panel. Leave it alone, it costs nothing and is generating power.

But lets say there is now a 6 million tons/year supply of used solar panels? As Elon Musk said about used lithium batteries, "There is no richer source of raw materials." Used solar panels are about 1000 times richer in the interesting stuff than ore mined from the ground. Those darn Capitalists will step in and make a profit from used PV panels! Assuming we have any resemblance of a Capitalist Economy in 2050.

So, how do you run an EV tractor for 24hrs for two weeks when harvest hast to come in? I know that drivers hot-swap in motion, refueling can be done in motion, but how can you do that with EV? And what are you charging them with?

 

[KilroyJC]

We are State Capitalists.

Facebook did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.
Toyota did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.
Polaris did not build in Huntsville without government concessions.

Tesla did not take over an abandoned GM-Toyota automobile factory in Fremont CA without government concessions.

There is another name for that system. . . Government control of private business. . .

One word, seven letters. . .

 

[KilroyJC]

I see where it's Fake News. Many people working in the agriculture industry shared the post, convinced that John Deere was going to force farmers to go electric.Feb 24, 2023.

Every question asked about electric tractors in that post is a valid question, though.

 

[KilroyJC]

I’ve never claimed eliminate was an option.
Reductions in local pollution would be a great benefit for folks like me living in coal/lignite/NG burning country. Wish we had more nuk plants here.

Pretty amazing, way out in the country and the air quality here isn’t great due to the ‘clean fossil fuel’ plants we have here in Tx.

Selfishly, I would choose a ratted out mining diesel machine in some foreign mine over air pollution here in the sticks. Never claimed to have a desire to save the world from itself. I don’t have an opinion on the climate change debate. I do have an opinion on localized pollution.

Selfishly, I would prefer to see American energy jobs produce American hydrocarbons and lower feedstock/production/transportation costs and not send all that overseas to people who do not like us.

 

[walhondingMF]

It would of decreased USA need to import oil from South American countries where irresponsible means are used.......whereas Canada is a much cleaner responsible provider and is a neighbor and friend that billions of dollars of trade are consistently counted on between both our countries.

The oil is not sold to or used by America. It is simply refined in american refineries. It is being used in China.

 

[walhondingMF]

Increasing the amount of product on a Market reduces prices.

The oil is still making it to the destination. I'm not seeing very good gas prices right now.