Is power grid failure coming?

[sobo]

Now factor in batteries only lasting at most ten years and your inverter needing replacement around five years.

Why do you hate on solar power? Can't you just let me have just one thing without shiiting all over it?

Besides, I'll be out of this house within the next 3-4 years. Someone else will get all those bennies. I just wanted to have a solar system. Is that so wrong?

 

[solv3nt]

Can't you just let me have just one thing without shiiting all over it?

No.

 

[solv3nt]

Why do you hate on solar power? Can't you just let me have just one thing without shiiting all over it?

Besides, I'll be out of this house within the next 3-4 years. Someone else will get all those bennies. I just wanted to have a solar system. Is that so wrong?

Despite what the greenies tell you, solar power is far from green.

Solar panels are basically computer chips. Computer chips are anything but green. Now add in the fact that most panels are made in China, and as we all know, China doesn't use clean manufacturing like Intel.

If you opt for lithium batteries, lithium and cobalt required for batteries are mined. Most of which occurs in third world countries with child labor and all of which absolutely destroys their environment.

Now for recycling. Recycling is possible, but doesn't really exist. Google "wind turbine blade burials".

 

[sobo]

Despite what the greenies tell you, solar power is far from green.

Solar panels are basically computer chips. Computer chips are anything but green. Now add in the fact that most panels are made in China, and as we all know, China doesn't use clean manufacturing line Intel.

If you opt for lithium batteries, lithium and cobalt required for batteries are mined. Most of which occurs in third world countries with child labor and all of which absolutely destroys their environment.

Now for recycling. Recycling is possible, but doesn't really exist. Google "wind turbine blade burials".

I know all of that, and IDGAFF. I wanted solar power, so I got it. End of story.
Anyone who believes that solar and wind power are "green energy" has got their headuptheirass, for precisely the reasons you list...

 

[Longwalkhome]

If the solar panels go bad I suspect it will cost a lot just to have them hauled off.

 

[solv3nt]

Why do you hate on solar power? Can't you just let me have just one thing without shiiting all over it?

I know all of that, and IDGAFF. I wanted solar power, so I got it. End of story.
Anyone who believes that solar and wind power are "green energy" has got their headuptheirass, for precisely the reasons you list...

I won't poo poo your Sig, but I'll poo poo your solar.

 

[sobo]

If the solar panels go bad I suspect it will cost a lot just to have them hauled off.

Again, not worried about that. I'll be gone long before anything "goes bad"...

 

[sobo]

I won't poo poo your Sig, but I'll poo poo your solar.

You're so mean...

 

[solv3nt]

You're so mean...

You're just now figuring that out?

 

[sobo]

You're just now figuring that out?

 

[solv3nt]

View attachment 1458673

I win.

 

[sobo]

You fight dirty. I knew it all along...

 

[solv3nt]

You fight dirty. I knew it all along...

You better believe it. I routinely carry a gun, so if you bring a knife to a gun fight, I don't know what to tell you

 

[MTpockets]

I suspect that the recycling of "green energy" waste will become eligible for government subsidies, and/or accrue additional charges (tax) attached to the initial product cost.

WIRED 2020

Solar Panels Are Starting to Die, Leaving Behind Toxic Trash

Photovoltaic panels are a boon for clean energy but are tricky to recycle. As the oldest ones expire, get ready for a solar e-waste glut.

www.wired.com

WIRED 2023

As Millions of Solar Panels Age Out, Recyclers Hope to Cash In

Photovoltaic panels contain valuable metals, including silver and copper—but the supply of expired panels may overwhelm the capacity to process them.

www.wired.com

Hail Storm Destroys Solar Farm in Nebraska

The solar panels at a 5.2 megawatt solar farm in Scottsbluff, Nebraska were mostly destroyed by baseball-sized hail moving at…

www.instituteforenergyresearch.org

From Linked Article
Recycling

The challenge of recycling these discarded panels is daunting. Traditional recycling methods, while able to recover most of the aluminum and glass, which is of low quality and unsuitable for making new panels, struggle to extract and reclaim precious materials, such as silver and copper. Over 60 percent of the value of solar panels is contained in just 3 percent of their weight. However, these materials are intertwined with other components, making them economically challenging to separate and there is not enough infrastructure to handle the recycling demand. Additional infrastructure requires additional investment which will ultimately be passed onto consumers of energy.

France is at the forefront of recycling in Europe. At the end of June, the world's first factory dedicated to fully recycling solar panels officially opened in Grenoble, France. ROSI, the specialist solar recycling company which owns the facility, hopes eventually to be able to extract and re-use 99 percent of a unit's components. The new factory will recycle the glass fronts and aluminum frames, and recover nearly all of the precious materials contained within the panels, such as silver and copper, which are hard to extract. In the future, the factory owners hope to be able to recover nearly three-quartersof the materials needed to make new solar panels from retired PV units and to recycle them to speed up production of new panels. Last year, just under 4,000 metric tons of French solar panels were recycled.

Since recycling is still in its infancy and is expensive, most used solar panels will continue to be crushed or shredded when they retire, which is far cheaper than recycling, and their replacements will be new panels. Unfortunately, there is not enough silver and possibly other precious metals available to build the millions of solar panels which will be required in the transition from fossil fuels, so new mines of all kinds will need to be developed.

Edited to add.. I am a fan of solar energy when it is used when and where it is actually needed.

 

[MaxwellEdison]

Just remember, the Pacific NW is a net exporter, mostly to California. High and ultra high voltage lines, both in AC and DC transmit power to California. In the events of an issue, the lines will be shut down, and the Pacific NW should be fine.

Also, Texas is a separate grid.

Yeah, as much as we like to complain about government and public services, the PNW power grid is actually pretty well-managed.

While there has been an increasing trend of lessening fossil-based power plants, it isn't being done at the expense of needed wattage. We're fortunate to have abundant and relatively inexpensive hydro power here, and there are a lot of new solar and wind projects coming online every year. PGE in particular has been building a significant number of "Community Solar" projects. These are small-scale solar farms that can provide more than enough clean & cheap energy for communities with <5,000 people. I think it's cool that they're tackling energy needs both from a large grid perspective and from a small localized perspective. That is NOT the norm in the rest of the country.

So, as far as our power needs go, things could be much worse. And in many areas of the country...they ARE much worse. (I'm looking at you, Texas.)

As an aside our biggest energy risks are probably a major earthquake, another Carrington-type event, or malicious hacking from hostile governments. Any one of these things could mean lights out (literally) for a prolonged period of time. But everyone on THIS forum already knows that and has adequate stores of food, water, any needed medications, etc. Right? RIGHT???

 

[solv3nt]

These are small-scale solar farms that can provide more than enough clean & cheap energy for communities with <5,000 people. I think it's cool that they're tackling energy needs both from a large grid perspective and from a small localized perspective. That is NOT the norm in the rest of the country.

Yes and no... With all things, "it depends". Solar is good, but when a cloud covers the panels, if there isn't battery storage or another form of power, it can destabilize and crash. Wind is great, but it's windiest in most places in the evening, so you need storage.

 

[MaxwellEdison]

Didn't we just have a 180 page thread on this closed down a few weeks ago?

Any way . .

Context is great and here is some for that silly meme

Posts mislead on German weather map colors, climate change

Social media posts compare a German TV program's weather maps from 2017 and 2022 to claim it now uses more vivid colors to exaggerate heat and the effects of climate change. This is misleading; the channel said it adopted a more accessible format that uses color, not just numbers, to reflect...

factcheck.afp.com

What in the hell are you doing, "factchecking" a meme! Pffft.

Everyone knows that when you see a meme or other claim on social media or your favorite news source (which certainly has no biases whatsoever), you are supposed to automatically assume it's nothing but 100% true! Especially if that meme or claim validates what you already believe!

(Seriously though, it's scary how many people get their "news" and "information" from sources that are pushing a certain ideology or agenda. And because those sources validate what someone already believes or wants to believe, those people rarely bother asking themselves - or sometimes even caring - "Is this claim actually true?" It's a sad state of affairs for this country when people start rejecting objective & provable facts and replacing those with "If I badly want to believe something is true, then it automatically becomes true!"

A seemingly increasing number of confused people haven't figured out that "reality" doesn't work that way.

 

[JTK1791]

Who else is waiting for the power grid to have a cascade failure? This heat is stressing the grid, A/C use is likely the culprit. If the grid fails in the west and southwest it will be bad for all of us.

Massive failure is highly unlikely especially nation wide. If there was an Emp attack we would already be so deep in the bubblegum at that point that it would be more of an inconvenience than an apocalyptic event. Even in the event of natural disaster it would be temporary. Look to south Africa and their bubblegumed power grid, my guess is it would go more that way than a "woke up and oh bubblegum no ones lights come on" type thing. Now Im not saying dont prep because even temporary disruptions can cause havoc but I don't see it as an over night event but as something that comes slowly with rolling blackouts/brownouts first

 

[Mikej]

What in the hell are you doing, "factchecking" a meme! Pffft.

Everyone knows that when you see a meme or other claim on social media or your favorite news source (which certainly has no biases whatsoever), you are supposed to automatically assume it's nothing but 100% true! Especially if that meme or claim validates what you already believe!

(Seriously though, it's scary how many people get their "news" and "information" from sources that are pushing a certain ideology or agenda. And because those sources validate what someone already believes or wants to believe, those people rarely bother asking themselves - or sometimes even caring - "Is this claim actually true?" It's a sad state of affairs for this country when people start rejecting objective & provable facts and replacing those with "If I badly want to believe something is true, then it automatically becomes true!"

A seemingly increasing number of confused people haven't figured out that "reality" doesn't work that way.

Hey Man! I get 95% of MY news from this board right here! Between reading the links, and discussions between some of the smartest and most intelligent people I've ever had the pleasure of reading, I believe I've got a pretty damned good chance of knowing the truth from bull-scat than I EVER could by listening to/watching MSM!

 

[sobo]

Hey Man! I get 95% of MY news from this board right here! Between reading the links, and discussions between some of the smartest and most intelligent people I've ever had the pleasure of reading, I believe I've got a pretty damned good chance of knowing the truth from bull-scat than I EVER could by listening to/watching MSM!

A little word to the wise, Mike...
Listening to a conch shell will give you more real news than the MSM ever will...