Originally Posted by
atpcliff
Our Sun is soon to go supernova???
The ONLY long term solution to energy usage is zero emissions.
No, the Sun will not go supernova unless it somehow gains several times its current mass. It will end up as a white dwarf.
So, I'm guessing from your statement yo believe solar is the answer. Here's the math:
A fairly high efficiency photo voltaic panel produces 15 watts per square foot. Let's pretend a panel can produce that 15 watts/square foot for 12 hours each day (more realistically about 7 hours in the sun belt, but hey, I'm generous). That means 1 square foot can produce about 65 kwh per year (15 watts *12 hours per day *365 days/year / 1000).
The US used about 3.9 trillion kwh last year. That equates to 60 billion square feet or roughly 2150 square miles of cells.
Ooops, I made a mistake.
That 2150 square miles would supply enough electricity for the country ONLY WHEN the sun is shining. Since it is dark 12 hours per day, we would need another 2150 square miles. Figure a swath about 4 miles wide running from the Florida panhandle to San Diego (I know that is more that 4300 square miles, but there will need to be room between each row of cells and for logistical stuff)
Remember, cell start losing efficiency day one and should be replaced about every 25 years.
AND we would need batteries to store enough electricity to last through the nights. Elon Musk's Australia battery holds 100 mw. To make it through the night we would need some 53,000 of those batteries. The numbers I have seen suggest each of those batteries cost about $100 million.
Now that has been an extremely optimistic set up. There would be no way to distribute electricity from the sun belt to the rust belt without ridiculous efficiency losses. And if the cells are installed up north, that 12 hours of production per day drops down to as little as 4 hour on full sun days near the Canadian border.