There’s little reason why covered parking couldn’t have solar panels to enable cars to charge while they’re parked, particularly for office areas.
1 Like
The Army Research Center in Adelphi, Maryland, covered their main parking lot with elevated solar cell arrays.
Cars still park there (but now under a bit of cover) while the facility now produces some of the electricity it needs.
2 Likes
I suspect the owners of horse feed stores, etc, once made similar arguments about new-fangled automobiles - the lack of gas stations. If there’s demand, businesses will step up to fulfill that demand.
2 Likes
Blue hydrogen = hydrogen produced while implementing carbon capture(, use,) and storage (CCS or CCUS) for the fossil fuel-related activities.
Gray hydrogen = hydrogen produced by steam reformation of natural gas (mostly (~90+%) methane), so, while it’s currently (among?) the least expensive method(s) of producing hydrogen, it’s also not really green at all.
The fact is, there will be a shortage and price spikes of materials to make batteries and EVs before we approach 25-30% of EV saturation globally. We’re going to need hydrogen. Trucks, trains and etc are not going to be able run on battery power because of the massive batteries and fast charging that will be needed. Those damn charging cables are not only going to have to be liquid cooled, they are going to have to be very thick. Tons of copper for each wind turbine and nearly two hundred pounds for each car is going to drive copper into the stratosphere. It was speculated a year ago that there would not be enough copper to make a total transition. Sure, we’ll be recycling some eventually, but it won’t keep up with demand. During the war,(WWII) aluminum was used in some house wiring because of a copper shortage.
While mining companies scramble to increase production from existing facilities and develop new sources of supply, benchmark prices of lithium carbonate ended 2021 at records. In China, the biggest battery-producing country, the price was 261,500 yuan (just over $41,060) a ton, more than five times higher than last January.
Other commodities used in cathodes, the most expensive part of a battery, have also been rising: The price of cobalt has doubled since last January to $70,208 a ton, while nickel jumped 15% to $20,045.
And there will be a huge environmental cost.
Like I said, hydrogen is going to have to be part of the solution. They need to figure out cheaper production.
1 Like
Every building built on Ft Bliss since 2005 has solar on the roof, or a ground grid right next to it.
3 Likes
My tools are so old they are stamped ‘Made in the USA’.
2 Likes
Amazed Abe Lincoln didn’t requisition them for the Union Army.
They were sold as surplus when the GAR disbanded.
Maybe “DE-invention” would be a worthy option?
The smaller the grid the more likely it is produced locally.
No grid might be the best option. That dosn’t mean no electricity, just a concerted effort to minimize its unnecessary uses.
Using alternatives on a personal level, basically getting OFF GRID, even in the midst of urban areas, may be the first alternative we should look at, and do it seriously without pretending it is just an exercise in ideas.
Every “SOLAR HOME” that derives power from its own PV panels, wind, local hydro, etc. contributes to the effort. And in some cases actually costs less, especially where insolation values are high.
“Wireless” is a much bigger word than just computer networking.