sexymike Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 I Just watched a bit of 'By Any Means' with charley Booreman, he sayed (as he was about to get into a solar powered car) that Australia produces on its hottest day of the year enough solar energy IN A DAY to power the world for a year!!!Now, thats unrealistic to capture it all but it gives you an idea just how powerfull the sun is.Giving that Australia is 7,741,220 Km², the Average temp is around 19C and the hottest around 36C (year on year, without freak heat) we can assume the Hottest is around double the average thus giving us the principal that through the year we would need 2 days of sunlight to generate the energy for the world.Considering this, if we said we could have a solar panel of a certain size permanently fixed, the size must be the area of Australia/time required.Either - All of australia for just 2 days a year,All of the year with the Size of austalia/ 183 (year in half)We there for need a solar panel 42301.7km² running all year round at the average temp of 19C to generate enough energy for the world.I found Solar Panels at £1833/ Square meter (bloody ell)we only need to spend £77,539,016,100 as a one of cost (plus maintainence) to put the solar panel's in, a worthy investment im sure you will agree.To put it in prespective, the government just shelled out 55,000,000,000 to bail out banks in the UKthe money is out there.to be honest, its just me being inqusative (sp?) and its very very late, just a thought of mine for the last 5 minsOh, i really do always think this way in real life.bed time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doopdoopbedoop Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 I love the romantic idea that this could work - but we all know it would never come into fruition annoyingly. Who's land would we build a 42301.7km² solar panel on?It does get you thinking though... if only Australia wasn't so selfish with their sunlight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixed Pants™ Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Isn't the middleish of africa closer to the equator and therefore hotter etc? And there's shitloads of land going spare there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Just because somewhere is closer to the equator doesn't mean it's going to be warmer there. One of the places on earth with the highest recorded temperatures is Death Valley California. That's a f**k of a long way from the equator. I believe Libya has the highest ever recorded temperature and that's also a good distance from it. I guess generally (very generally) the average temperature is warmer as you move towards the equator, although in desert areas it does tend to get quite cold at night. This is all irrelevant anyway. Solar panels work on light rather than heat. You can get sunburn at the top of a mountain at -20 degrees Celsius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Solar power stations take about 10-20 years to pay off. They've completely missed the infrastructure in the calculation which is bound to cost at least 50% more. But yeah, it's an interesting thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Something drastic has to be done ASAP anyway. Screw global warming, the problem at the moment is the growing demand for oil against the decreased availability. The underlying cause for the current recession is the cost of oil and it's availability. Recent calculations show future demand/availability as quite a scary prospect. I received the below a couple of days ago from an analyst I used to work with:Hope all's well with you. I got this in yesterday. It's interesting to see demand outstrip supply in 2007 (hence high prices) and then fall back below because of reduced demand in a recession until 2012. What happens after that is a bit alarming. That's quite a sharp fall off. I'm thinking my next custom chopper might have peddles on it! It's strange to think that the world will be quite different in 2016. That's not long off. Don't go getting into debt! Chris Skrebowski's latest peak oil chart.http://aspo-spain.org/aspo7/ASPO7presentations.htmlc/o the energy bulletinSkrebowski bases his calculations on very matter-of-fact analysis ofknown discoveries comingonline. He's one of the chief peak oil gurus and author(?) of theoriginal oil megaprojects<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_Megaprojects> project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVWOCI WVS Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 maintenance on solar panels if huge, especuially on something that big. It wouldn't be anywhere close to 100% efficient and the lifespan of solar panels is only a few years. my dad works with solar energy for bosch, he's always talking about them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munkee Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 To put it in prespective, the government just shelled out 55,000,000,000 to bail out banks in the UKthe money is out there.its not though, the money is from us in taxes. I aint paying a f**kin solar panel tax until the governments have enough money to buy this idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 That's a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munkee Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Something drastic has to be done ASAP anyway. Screw global warming, the problem at the moment is the growing demand for oil against the decreased availability. The underlying cause for the current recession is the cost of oil and it's availability. Recent calculations show future demand/availability as quite a scary prospect. I received the below a couple of days ago from an analyst I used to work with:before i believe any of that graph id like to know where the exact figures for demand have come from. Thats assuming a very linear growth in demand, but who is to say current demand is not sustainable over the next 8 years? In my opinion you can bullshit statistics all you want to look in to this "doom and gloom" but at the end of the day, oil companies will charge what they want. Without their oil, they have nothing.. therefore why should they allow the world to deplete it? If you want to know what i see, oil companies will reduce the supply in order to raise the price of oil, making it more profitable to themselves for oil not to drain away in to the system and for it to remain at a constant trickling level. Demand will be met, but at a price.Its already been seen with that big oil company by stopping a few million barrels of oil, they are driving the price back up (but it doesnt mean we have run out of oil). Also you have to think these big oil companies dont know what to do with their money, so they invest it. It goes in to insurance companies , banks, football teams etc... and what have we seen recently? shit hitting the fans with those so all they have to do is go back to their oil and replenish their losses with increased prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_Fel Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Ever considered how long it would take to make all of those solar panels? Are there even enough resources to make them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Balls Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 (edited) the cost of solar panels is too high! research (like what i is doing) is trying to drive the cost of solar energy down to ~ $0.02-0.04/kWh...that means 50% efficiency (current cells are ~10ish%) and $125/square metre... and that's only to compete with fossil fuels.Did you know...that the UK is now a net importer of gas- there is pipeline all the way from f**king russia, so if someone decides they don't like us, we really are f**ked as a huuuuge %age of UK power is from gas stations. If you want to know what i see, oil companies will reduce the supply in order to raise the price of oil, making it more profitable to themselves for oil not to drain away in to the system and for it to remain at a constant trickling level. Demand will be met, but at a price.that's already happening...right now- supply has been cut drastically.we really are in an energy crisis!EDIT: INSOLATION is what you're talking about, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Insolation.png Edited October 31, 2008 by zhi nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txt2007 Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 sorta skipped a few posts so sorry if it doesn't relate or something...i was watching James may's show when he was doing about energy and what he was talking about was like a solar panel but it just magnified the suns beam and shone back into this box and then oil formed, well something like that, i'm tired and it was like 2weeks ago...but yeah oil from thin air... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVWOCI WVS Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 but yeah oil from thin air...Not even slightly possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 This whole oil shortage dealio depends who you talk to...I don't really have time to go into the argument (and theres no real right or wrong answer, as the whole situation is based on speculation) but from my experience as a Geoscientist there is still huge amounts of oil and even more gas to come out of the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txt2007 Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 from what i remember it is, it just needs a few tweaks or something...the tv said it so it must be true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Balls Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 oil and gas that's left is just harder to get at is all- there is still loads..but..whilst it's at ~$70 a barrel, alternative technology such as solar and fuel cells become increasingly viable adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 but..whilst it's at ~$70 a barrel, alternative technology such as solar and fuel cells become increasingly viableIt looks like the financial situation around the world is a bit better than many predicted, but one of the extreme scenarios suggested that the price of oil would drop to around 10-20USD a barrel by the end of this year. The same scenario suggested this is just the very beginning of the biggest financial crisis in the history of humanity. So whatever happens, we're stuck. We'll either afford to run a pro street dragster to the shops, or we'll afford to buy one. Never both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Balls Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 We'll either afford to run a pro street dragster to the shops, or we'll afford to buy one. Never both.i kinda understand that...but...no...what the..?! a pro street dragster? running? petrol..?anyways...world is a bit frencht for sure! i'm in ~£20k debt, which absolutely f**king rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVWOCI WVS Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 i'm in ~£20k debt, which absolutely f**king rocksJealous? Yes i am! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Balls Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 world is my oyster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-i-t-c-h Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 In principle, yes it can but the efficiency of converting solar energy is poor. Untill we work out how to replicate it the way plants do, its not a viable form of energy capture.The most efficient solar power station is this one in spain.If you really want to look into renewable energy, check out wave power. everyone is taught in school that wave power is rubbish, but the new developments in wave energy are very exciting. In particular the Pelamis "Sea snake".Annual output in uk seas of 2.7GWh per unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davetrials Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 In principle, yes it can but the efficiency of converting solar energy is poor. Untill we work out how to replicate it the way plants do, its not a viable form of energy capture.The most efficient solar power station is this one in spain.If you really want to look into renewable energy, check out wave power. everyone is taught in school that wave power is rubbish, but the new developments in wave energy are very exciting. In particular the Pelamis "Sea snake".Annual output in uk seas of 2.7GWh per unit.what does that thing to, does it mow around the ocean collecting energy..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-i-t-c-h Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Its anchored, and moved up and down with the waves. It has hydrolic fluid inside the moves from one end to the other of each capsule turning turbines as it pores back and forward. Genius! Its curently beeing refined but at its current state it needs 40 of them in 1km2 area of UK sea to power 20,000 homes or a year. obviously it makes more energy in somewhere like in the middle of the pacific instead of off the coast of scotland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinJI Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Not even slightly possible.Sorry but yes it is,Petrol is basically just a refined hydrocarbon, As the name gives away, this means its mostly made from hydrogen and carbon atoms, as two of the main components of air are Carbon-Dioxide and hydrogen, its not exactly hard to see that it is indeed possible.The concentrated sun light is if I remember correctly to generate the heat needed to separate the oxygen atoms from the carbon-dioxide leaving us with just carbon.Yes its not easy, or at this moment in time financially viable, but one thing it very much is, is possible.When it comes to renewable energy, in this country at least, it appears to me that the obvious choices are tidal and wave power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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