How efficient are these panels when they have a foot or 3 of snow on them? What’s the cost savings during the annual 20% of total sunny days from November to February in the Great Lakes region? Will a homeless man on a bicycle with a generator be more cost worthy?
They don’t work when covered with snow and thier capacity is cut in half by dust covering them. Guess what happens in the desert?
“How efficient are these panels when they have a foot or 3 of snow on them?”
I have heated side mirrors on my Impala. Why not have heated solar panels where they’re needed? (j/k)
There's a reason why this solar plant is located in the Arizona desert. Who's suggesting building a major solar plant in the northern states?
Only if you're not the one feeding him...
If you do the math and assume 12 hours a day, 365 days a year, and 10 cents a kw hr, you get a 12.24% gross return on investment. 6.12% at 5 cents per kw hr. Easily a third of that might go to operating costs for transmission, maintenance, personnel etc. It will about pay for itself, and give a real return only if electricity costs rise.
Better returns can definitely be achieved with coal fired plants. It is the regulatory climate and carbon tax rattling by greens that lead to this choice instead. Which means we are paying in an economic sense to put a little less CO2 into the atmosphere, which really doesn't care. That much is typical green boondoggle. But it is fine on a pilot scale, to test the technology.
Speaking of Homeless, Gila Bend could use the infusion. I was stationed there a number of years back and that town was pretty damn desolate. I enjoyed the freedom of 4 wheeling on a moments notice and defending myself at 1AM at the local watering holes. A big ass solar plant would be wild. I’m for it if it can be cost-effective.