Your Questions About Solar Energy Facts
John asks…
What is a down side to solar energy?
What is some negatives to solar energy,
admin answers:
I think the only down side is that no electricity is generated at night.
As for other answer mentioned energy used to produce panel, here is a interesting fact:
The energy payback time (i.e., the time it takes for a PV system to generate the same amount of energy that it took to manufacture the system) for PV systems is 2 to 5 years. Since a well-designed and maintained PV system will operate for more than 20 years, and a system without moving parts will operate for close to 30 years, PV systems produce far more energy over their useful life than we use to manufacture them.
Mary asks…
Aren’t solar panles on their own, even at night when there is no sun, if they are charged enough from the day?
I go to know that if your electricity is offset by 100 percent solar energy, it will need backup. However, I was in the impression that If there is enough sun, the solar panels will not need backup, as they chargeup anyway from the daylight for the night as well. Isn’t that it? We have PLENTY of sun here, it gets to 40 degrees + in the summers. I am planning on running a whole hospital with over hundred rooms on solar energy alone. Thank you.
admin answers:
Nope. The only solar power that works adequately all through the night is solar therm. The sun’s heat melts salt. The molten salt boils water, water produces steam drives a turbine connected to a generator. Since the salt gets VERY hot and takes a long time to cool down a MSR solar therm reactor [as opposed to a MSR Thorium nuclear reactor] can operate all night long.
An offset is a financial instrument – it is like a stock certificate; it is in fact a commodity forward and the commodity is electricity. It allows you to spend credits produced in generating solar power on electricity generated from the grid. In this case you are not generating energy from the solar cells but from some other electricity plant. You are just getting your electricity for free by spending your offsets.
Not sure but I think a hospital will require large amounts of electricity – too much for solar cells to produce????
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
