cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/67515975

Obvious choice

all 24 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 80 points 6 months ago (6 children)

Additional options include:

  • Partially cover agricultural fields that get too much sun (yes, it is possible for a plant to get too much sun, depending on the species)
  • Cover water reservoirs with floating panels, which both cools the panel (improving its efficiency and lifespan) and lowers evaporative water losses.
  • Cover patches of desert, which get a ton of sun.
  • Cover rooftops.
  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 17 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    Deserts are ecosystems that must be protected. If you must put them in fields, incentivize farmers who grow corn for ethanol production to install solar instead.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (2 children)

    True, but out of all the ecosystem the one which gets the highest insolation per square meter requires the lowest amount of square meters of disruption for a given amount of power.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 52 points 6 months ago
    [–] 48 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Yeah, but also both. In Europe we don't have that many car parks, we have underground parking below buildings. So yeah, we still need solar parks.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 22 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    It's more that we should cover more infrastructure, since that area has already been claimed by humans.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 33 points 6 months ago

    The zoo in my city did this. Not only does it generate power, it saves power by keeping the cars cool so people don't need to use A/C to bring it down to a normal temperature.

  • source
  • [–] 23 points 6 months ago

    It has become law in France, any new carpark of a given size must be covered with solar panels.

  • source
  • [–] 19 points 6 months ago* (4 children)

    There are a lot of fields in the US dedicated to growing corn for use in fuel which could instead be used for solar panels. Also what is shown is potentially a terrible idea if a car runs into one of the poles or someone is stupid enough to try to park with a vehicle that crashes into the sides of the panels

    Edit: Please see this extremely well made video about renewables https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgxb8I1nk2I

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Also what is shown is potentially a terrible idea if a car runs into one of the poles or someone is stupid enough to try to park with a vehicle that crashes into the sides of the panels

    They do have covered parking where you are from yeah? Or is that some magical novelty to the natives?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I've never seen covered parking (not counting indoor parking), but also I'm not american. Maybe solar panels like that would work, but as shown in the photo does make me sweat a bit

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 10 points 6 months ago

    Cover our roofs, make the streets cars free.

  • source
  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 child)

    I mean, that is not a field, that is a lawn.

    Solar panels covering grassland does much less ecosystem damage than any fossil fuel generation, or constructing parking lots or lawns for that matter.

    We shouldn't gatekeep solar panels, just fucking install them!

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago

    The issue, as always is money. It is far cheaper to build close to the ground than high in the air. That solar field will payback far faster than a solar parking lot.

  • source
  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago

    Cover bicycle parking instead!

  • source
  • 188 comments in c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net view that post