The only problem I have with this guy’s theory is that it also takes a heck of a lot of energy to mine coal and then ship it on trains to where the power plant is that burns it.
That is why I still believe that hydro, nuclear power and natural gas are still the cleanest energy forms used in producing electricity on a per/KW basis.
However, we all know that we are not going to be allowed to dam any more rivers and according to Google the last nuclear plant opened went online in 1990. TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO. So, natural gas IMHO is the way to go. Plus we have got SH#TLOADS of it here in these United States.
I agree - but what is the CO2 payback for a solar panel. With those nasties, that are 20,000 times the greenhouse impact of CO2, being spewed into the atmosphere?
The other is that silicon itself has to be kilned, and it takes 2 pounds of silicon to get to 1 pound of electronic component grade silicon - meaning you have to cook it down - with fossil fuels. Someone said the payback was 17 years, and I don’t know if that includes what NF3 or SF6 does in the atmosphere.
Don’t forget that a solar panel degrades about half a percent a year. In 20 years it produces 90% of day one power, and continues to drop.