News Two new solar arrays coming online in 2023 will double Walt Disney World's solar capability

[JoeCamel]

Following that logic and reasoning then this solar array project is just an expensive P.R. exercise and should be cancelled. The funds returned to the share holders, I am sure the share holders will not object.

Yeah, to this point they have been demonstration projects. The one out west is getting serious but the mickey was just a look at how green we are gimmick. The wind farms and solar arrays I have seen in the last year out west make anything the mouse can do here look paltry and yet they provide such a small fraction of total power it is a wonder they were built at all.
I live where you would expect almost total hydro as a source but it is less than 12% of the total mix, even the TVA is building wind farms and solar because hydro is not enough. Renewable will never provide it all.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

If The Mouse was serious about using less hydrocarbons, then he would build a reactor.

 

[Kevin_W]

I live where you would expect almost total hydro as a source but it is less than 12% of the total mix, even the TVA is building wind farms and solar because hydro is not enough. Renewable will never provide it all.

The Time Variance Authority is building solar farms? I wondered where all their energy came from...

 

[DisneyCane]

Yeah, to this point they have been demonstration projects. The one out west is getting serious but the mickey was just a look at how green we are gimmick. The wind farms and solar arrays I have seen in the last year out west make anything the mouse can do here look paltry and yet they provide such a small fraction of total power it is a wonder they were built at all.
I live where you would expect almost total hydro as a source but it is less than 12% of the total mix, even the TVA is building wind farms and solar because hydro is not enough. Renewable will never provide it all.

Bingo. That's why nuclear should be expanding along with building out renewable.

The goal should be to reduce fossil fuel use and minimize it, not the unrealistic goal of eliminating it.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Bingo. That's why nuclear should be expanding along with building out renewable.

The goal should be to reduce fossil fuel use and minimize it, not the unrealistic goal of eliminating it.

It's only unrealistic right now.

In the future, after more non-fossil-fuel-dependent means of generating energy are built out, it will be more realistic.

 

[DisneyCane]

It's only unrealistic right now.

In the future, after more non-fossil-fuel-dependent means of generating energy are built out, it will be more realistic.

Unless solar panels become significantly more efficient it is unrealistic for the foreseeable future. I did a rough calculation a few years ago that for Florida to be 100% solar would take over 2 million acres of solar panels (not including the space between panels and access paths.

Everglades national park is only 1.5 million acres.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I am a fan of Solar power but it's just not economical yet. It's interesting to see home builders building new homes with the systems included; the costs can be spread over the lifetime of the mortgage even with that, I worry about these systems over the long term; maintenance, efficiency over time, what happens when you need to replace the roof shingles?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Unless solar panels become significantly more efficient it is unrealistic for the foreseeable future. I did a rough calculation a few years ago that for Florida to be 100% solar would take over 2 million acres of solar panels (not including the space between panels and access paths.

Everglades national park is only 1.5 million acres.

I didn't say strictly solar.

 

[danlb_2000]

It's only unrealistic right now.

In the future, after more non-fossil-fuel-dependent means of generating energy are built out, it will be more realistic.

I would like to read this book some day. It looks at how we could power the world with clean energy putting aside what might be politically viable.

Amazon product ASIN 0262046237

 

[danlb_2000]

I am a fan of Solar power but it's just not economical yet. It's interesting to see home builders building new homes with the systems included; the costs can be spread over the lifetime of the mortgage even with that, I worry about these systems over the long term; maintenance, efficiency over time, what happens when you need to replace the roof shingles?

Don't know for sure but it may be the case that the roof would last longer the the solar panels, especially since the panels are proving the roof protection thus increasing it's lifespan.

 

[danlb_2000]

I am a fan of Solar power but it's just not economical yet. It's interesting to see home builders building new homes with the systems included; the costs can be spread over the lifetime of the mortgage even with that, I worry about these systems over the long term; maintenance, efficiency over time, what happens when you need to replace the roof shingles?

The economics will also change as the cost of reaching the remaining fossil fuels increases.

 

[DisneyCane]

I didn't say strictly solar.

Florida doesn't have consistent enough wind for wind power to be viable.

In other areas, the turbines take up less land footprint for each turbine than the equivalent capacity solar panels and you can use the land in between turbines for other purposes. However, you basically render all of that land undevelopable due to aesthetics and noise. From a practical standpoint, that will limit installations to rural areas that have a decent distance buffer to any major population centers.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Florida doesn't have consistent enough wind for wind power to be viable.

In other areas, the turbines take up less land footprint for each turbine than the equivalent capacity solar panels and you can use the land in between turbines for other purposes. However, you basically render all of that land undevelopable due to aesthetics and noise. From a practical standpoint, that will limit installations to rural areas that have a decent distance buffer to any major population centers.

I didn't say strictly wind, either.

 

[DisneyCane]

I didn't say strictly wind, either.

What renewable energy have I left out that is viable on a large scale anytime soon? I guess hydro power could be included but the environmental changes made by damming rivers would probably not excite environmentalists right now.

I guess there is always pixie dust.

 

[TikibirdLand]

I didn't say strictly wind, either.

Hydro-electric - Significantly changes the landscape around the dams.
Reactors - what are you gonna do about the the spent fuel?
Wind - Think of all the dead birds!
Solar - Who's gonna clean that acreage? I mean a bird's gonna do what a bird's gonna do.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Hydro-electric - Significantly changes the landscape around the dams.
Reactors - what are you gonna do about the the spent fuel?
Wind - Think of all the dead birds!
Solar - Who's gonna clean that acreage? I mean a bird's gonna do what a bird's gonna do.

Hydrogen fuel is already being fleet tested in Europe and working quite well. Audi will be fielding race car prototypes fueled with hydrogen fuel for further testing. The exhaust is mere water (literally). Why people keep skipping past the concept is puzzling.

 

[JoeCamel]

Hydrogen fuel is already being fleet tested in Europe and working quite well. Audi will be fielding race car prototypes fueled with hydrogen fuel for further testing. The exhaust is mere water (literally). Why people keep skipping past the concept is puzzling.

How do you make and store the hydrogen? Where on the vehicle are you storing it? Like battery tech for EVs it still has limitations to widespread adoption

 

[danlb_2000]

Florida doesn't have consistent enough wind for wind power to be viable.

In other areas, the turbines take up less land footprint for each turbine than the equivalent capacity solar panels and you can use the land in between turbines for other purposes. However, you basically render all of that land undevelopable due to aesthetics and noise. From a practical standpoint, that will limit installations to rural areas that have a decent distance buffer to any major population centers.

No single source of power will replace fossil fuels, it will always need to be a mix.

 

[DisneyCane]

Hydrogen fuel is already being fleet tested in Europe and working quite well. Audi will be fielding race car prototypes fueled with hydrogen fuel for further testing. The exhaust is mere water (literally). Why people keep skipping past the concept is puzzling.

Hydrogen is an energy storage medium, not an energy source (at least on earth). You can't drill for hydrogen, it has to be made from either a hydrocarbon (usually natural gas) or split from water which takes a lot of electricity.

How do you make and store the hydrogen? Where on the vehicle are you storing it? Like battery tech for EVs it still has limitations to widespread adoption

The storage isn't that big of a deal. It's the making that is the issue. Even on vehicle storage isn't that big of a deal. I know people always bring up the Hindenburg or Challenger but hydrogen isn't more dangerous to drive around with than propane or LNG. In both of those cases disasters, there was just a big fire but not really a powerful explosion. Also, both cases involved enormous amounts of hydrogen, FAR more than would be stored onboard and vehicle.

 

[GimpYancIent]

How do you make and store the hydrogen? Where on the vehicle are you storing it? Like battery tech for EVs it still has limitations to widespread adoption

Good questions. I do not know the exact manufacturing process, but hydrogen fuel production is not a new science and is currently produced in quantity. The fuels are dispensed from pump stations like at a gas station where it is stored in tanks like gasoline but designed for hydrogen fuel. The vehicles have hydrogen fuel tanks just like vehicles have gas tanks now. Yes, like EV's the tech is being studied and refined and further developed. I believe it has more practical potential than electric sadly too many choose to ignore it or overlook it. I guess electric is glitzier.