- #1
Physics_Kid
- 173
- 11
is solar even viable way to replace oil? using just the current US joules consumption and the existing solar technology, is it possible to switch to solar if oil will run dry in say 50yrs from now?
solar technology seems to be approaching some theoretical limits, somewhere around 30% efficiency.
i had calculated we need roughly 100k mi2 of panels, but with parallel teams to build a unit(1mi2) it will take ~500-1,000 years just to install it, and that alone is only if millions and millions of panels were sitting ready for use. simply manufacturing that many panels would take a very long time.
so is solar a energy source worth pursuing if you cannot deploy or make panels fast enough?
what other oil replacements is more attractive? how about nuke plants to split water to get H? is that better or worse than the solar problem? what about geo thermal, plenty of free energy there?
solar technology seems to be approaching some theoretical limits, somewhere around 30% efficiency.
i had calculated we need roughly 100k mi2 of panels, but with parallel teams to build a unit(1mi2) it will take ~500-1,000 years just to install it, and that alone is only if millions and millions of panels were sitting ready for use. simply manufacturing that many panels would take a very long time.
so is solar a energy source worth pursuing if you cannot deploy or make panels fast enough?
what other oil replacements is more attractive? how about nuke plants to split water to get H? is that better or worse than the solar problem? what about geo thermal, plenty of free energy there?