Author Topic: Solar News  (Read 23481 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline WooferHound

  • Technowhiz
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 897
  • Karma: +40/-3
  • Huntsville Alabama USA
    • My personal webpage
Here's Elon Musk's Plan to Power the U.S. on Solar Energy
« Reply #45 on: July 17, 2017, 05:08:55 pm »
Here's Elon Musk's Plan to Power the U.S. on Solar Energy . . .

https://www.inverse.com/article/34239-how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-usa
----- W o o f e r h o u n d -----
My Renewable Energy Projects

Offline lighthunter

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 323
  • Karma: +13/-0
Re: Solar News
« Reply #46 on: July 18, 2017, 04:25:26 pm »
Right on! I dont have knowledge on slr mfg effects to environment but unless thats a deal breaker we(the ppl) are stupid not to fill rooftops with panels. Its wasted sun realestate  anyway not to mention you can double the use as roofing material. reduce size of HV transmission lines. It seems like a no brainer. Of course liquid fuels would still be needed for trains, semitrucks and airplanes but He is right!


Great read! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!!!

Health Warning: May contain traces of nut!
LH

Offline WooferHound

  • Technowhiz
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 897
  • Karma: +40/-3
  • Huntsville Alabama USA
    • My personal webpage
India is rolling out trains with solar-powered coaches
« Reply #47 on: July 19, 2017, 03:03:08 pm »
Of course liquid fuels would still be needed for trains, semitrucks and airplanes.

India is rolling out trains with solar-powered coaches that’ll save thousands of liters of diesel
https://qz.com/1030696/india-is-rolling-out-trains-with-solar-powered-coaches-thatll-save-thousands-of-litres-of-diesel/

NASA Unveils Plans for Electric-Powered Plane
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/18/science/nasa-electric-plane-x57.html

Elon Musk Tweets Electric Semi Truck Will Debut in September
http://www.motortrend.com/news/elon-musk-tweets-electric-semi-truck-will-debut-september/
----- W o o f e r h o u n d -----
My Renewable Energy Projects

Offline DJ

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 82
  • Karma: +5/-1
Re: India is rolling out trains with solar-powered coaches
« Reply #48 on: July 20, 2017, 11:12:58 am »
India is rolling out trains with solar-powered coaches that’ll save thousands of liters of diesel
https://qz.com/1030696/india-is-rolling-out-trains-with-solar-powered-coaches-thatll-save-thousands-of-litres-of-diesel/

Typically, the numbers quoted don't add up.  Even building in optimistic  factors, there is no way the panels are going to come near anything like the fuel savings quoted. The energy the panels produce even when given every possible benefit, Production and hours per day assumed best possible case, every day, does not come near the energy content of diesel for the savings amount claimed.

Hope the indians know what they are getting into... or not be going to be able to get out of!

Offline dang

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 86
  • Karma: +5/-3
Re: Solar News
« Reply #49 on: July 21, 2017, 09:28:06 am »
I think someone has not factored in the immense scale of their national rail system..

There are 12,000-plus scheduled passenger train routes scheduled daily, 5000 of its 10,000 locomotives are diesels. Appears each passenger car has its own little diesel power source for local lighting, venting and safety loads. India has 65,000~ passenger coaches...  If even 50% of them have aux power AND this saves one gallon of diesel a day then that is 12 million gallons of diesel unburned over a calendar year. Then how about the man-hours saved fueling & servicing the diesels plus the reduced fuel losses from spillage and lowered number of preventable accidents & equipment failure counting on an environmental perspective...

More factoids: seating capacity of the Indian Railways 5 million yet they will transport 23+ million people a day.

http://24coaches.com/indian-railways-facts-and-figures/
"It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others" - Anonymous

Offline solarnewbee

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 231
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • Cayenne Dashboard
Re: Solar News
« Reply #50 on: July 21, 2017, 07:35:17 pm »
Aren't the rooftops of Indian trains usually full sunlight blocking people?

SN

Any day above ground is a day for potential mishaps

Offline bj

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 735
  • Karma: +23/-0
  • Lamont, Alberta, Canada
Re: Solar News
« Reply #51 on: July 23, 2017, 08:03:24 pm »
  Just back from camping, so thanks Woof, good read.
  And thanks to Dan for some good clarification. 
"Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn once in a while"
bj

Offline DJ

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 82
  • Karma: +5/-1
Re: Solar News
« Reply #52 on: July 24, 2017, 02:43:28 am »
I think someone has not factored in the immense scale of their national rail system..

Quote
Although the train will still be pulled by a diesel-powered locomotive, a set of 16 solar panels atop each coach will replace the diesel generators that typically power these appliances. The railways estimate that a train with six solar-powered coaches could save around 21,000 litres of diesel every year, worth around Rs12 lakh.

As interpret the statement made there, they are refering to a saving of 21,000L PER TRAIN not per the whole network.
I give them more credit than to be working on a saving of only 21K L for the whole railway network.
 Maybe some places might be that greenwashed but I doubt the Indians are.
 
Going on a train of 6 Carriages  with 16 Panels of say 300W ea, 8 hours of sunlight which would be way optimistic given they all can't be facining the ideal direction let alone if any are at a particular time.   I cannot see the energy return of 21K l of Diesel.  If each individual train does not add up, you can have 10000 trains and it still won't work out.

Quote
Aren't the rooftops of Indian trains usually full sunlight blocking people?

I think you have a VERY valid point.  The vids I have seen where people tend to get on the roofs of the trains are the Diesels. I have seen vids of people getting BBQ'ed on top of electrics but they tend to appear to be less .  The other thing is if the panels are going to be smashed with people climbing on them or even stolen.  I imagine something like a solar panel could be a very desired item in the poor parts for either personal home use of sale for extra income.
I'm also lent to wonder about the possible reduction of output through the buildup of diesel soot on the panels although that maybe countered by the everyday rains in Monsoon season which isn't exactly great for solar output either.
Perhaps they would be a lot better off putting the panels on top of the railway stations where the panels could be set up for a lot better efficiency and make the saving through less power consumption or back feeding into the grid. 

Seems to me to be yet another of the endless feel good greenwashed but completely over hyped and poorly thought out ideas.


Offline WooferHound

  • Technowhiz
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 897
  • Karma: +40/-3
  • Huntsville Alabama USA
    • My personal webpage
----- W o o f e r h o u n d -----
My Renewable Energy Projects

Offline DJ

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 82
  • Karma: +5/-1
Re: Solar Grew Faster Than All Other Forms of Power for the First Time
« Reply #54 on: October 04, 2017, 07:47:06 pm »
Solar Grew Faster Than All Other Forms of Power for the First Time

Who Writes this agenda pushing crap as if it's news??

An emerging technology grew faster than those established already for over 100 years?
Wow, who would have seen that coming?   ::)
More so, who would expect anything less?

I'll bet diesel powered car sales grew faster than electrics as well but so what?

Of course now, we only need a few billion more solar panels around the world and the pipe dream of electrics replacing IC powered vehicles might have a hope in hell of becoming reality.

Solar certainly grew faster than any other source of power in my home.  Put in another 5 KW of power and hardly burned any oil.  Didn't collect much either but I'll get onto that this month.  Probably get another KW of panels as well.

Solar might be growing here where I am but it's also very limited too.  The utility that serves most of the state and probably about 80% of the customers limits the amount of solar you can have to 5KW.
There are the predictable excuses like not wanting to overpower the grid or such rubbish which is pretty laughable given every night there is some mention on the news of electricity shortages and the gubbermint who was busy blowing up power stations at every opportunity now desperately trying to keep them open because they have weakened the grid to the point of near collapse and are installing Diesel Generators to replace the Coal stations they leveled.

The reason they don't want people putting more than 5 kw of panels up is all to do with profit which is plainly obvious to anyone that has a brain and can think for themselves.  They should be encouraging people to put up panels and paying FAIR FIT's like they did previously before their Power company mates started sooking how much they were loosing in Revenue.

Time I'm finished with my solar setup, they will be lucky to get $50 a quarter out of me in power charges plus their BS " Supply" fee.



Offline WooferHound

  • Technowhiz
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 897
  • Karma: +40/-3
  • Huntsville Alabama USA
    • My personal webpage
Running out of Material to make Solar Panels
« Reply #55 on: November 13, 2017, 07:24:31 pm »
Solar manufacturers are being battered by higher costs and smaller margins, after an unexpected shortage of a critical raw material.
Prices of polysilicon, the main component of photovoltaic cells, spiked as much as 35 percent in the past four months after environmental regulators in China shut down several factories.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-13/solar-companies-grapple-with-unexpected-shortage-of-key-material
----- W o o f e r h o u n d -----
My Renewable Energy Projects

Offline bj

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 735
  • Karma: +23/-0
  • Lamont, Alberta, Canada
Re: Solar News
« Reply #56 on: November 14, 2017, 07:42:25 am »
  Thanks Woof.  Mixed thoughts on reading it.  Don't like paying more for cells/panels, but,
China waking up to environmental issues is not all bad.
  We will see how it all plays out.
"Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn once in a while"
bj

Offline WooferHound

  • Technowhiz
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 897
  • Karma: +40/-3
  • Huntsville Alabama USA
    • My personal webpage
Re: Solar News
« Reply #57 on: January 09, 2018, 10:06:18 pm »
Tesla Inc. has kicked off production of its long-awaited electricity-producing shingles that Elon Musk says will transform the rooftop solar industry. Manufacturing of the photovoltaic glass tiles began last month at a factory in Buffalo built with backing from New York State, the company said in an email Tuesday. It comes more than a year after Tesla unveiled the shingles to a mix of fanfare and skepticism.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-09/tesla-powers-up-new-york-gigafactory-solar-roof-assembly-line
----- W o o f e r h o u n d -----
My Renewable Energy Projects

Offline WooferHound

  • Technowhiz
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 897
  • Karma: +40/-3
  • Huntsville Alabama USA
    • My personal webpage
The Trump administration just approved tariffs of 30% on imported solar panels
« Reply #58 on: January 22, 2018, 10:11:16 pm »
----- W o o f e r h o u n d -----
My Renewable Energy Projects

Offline Wolvenar

  • Senior Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 1474
  • Karma: +40/-0
  • Mr. Murphys pawn
Re: Solar News
« Reply #59 on: April 27, 2018, 01:13:14 am »
Prices just going up :/
Thanks for the posts Woofer
Trying to make power from alternative energy any which way I can.
Just to abuse what I make. (and run this site)