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Old 06-25-2010, 12:41 PM  
Quagmire
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Stinkin' up your bathroom
Posts: 6,490
Quote:
Originally Posted by BFT3K View Post
Coal sucks too, I agree.

If solar was properly funded and mandated, it could provide a good amount of our electricity, which would be a big step towards weening us off coal.
There is no denying abundant available energy, we just need to understand how to tap in to it efficiently.

The biggest failure of solar (in a non-heat scenario) is that the panels require constant cleaning, because the drop in electricity they produce compounds quickly with very little dirt obscuring the direct sunlight. The heat farm projects I've read about are much more realistic because they heat a fluid to drive turbines.

Wind energy is very available, especially on large buildings. At least one side is going to have a steady source of airflow. I've seen some 'barrel' type concept devices for mounting on a building's surface to harness this wasted energy, but not really seen much forward movement with it. Very unfortunate...
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