Re:How Windmills as Wide as Jumbo Jets Are Making Clean Ener...
by lostapathy on Monday April 23, 2018 @03:13PM
(#16906470)
Except - lots of current biofuels are thought to be "fossil fuel subsidized" and not that energy positive.
Solar panels also don't wear out soil nutrients, don't need crop rotation, and are probably much less likely to be completely destroyed by weather patterns than the average corn crop grown for biofuels.
Re:How Windmills as Wide as Jumbo Jets Are Making Clean Ener...
by IAmEveryone on Monday April 23, 2018 @10:13AM
(#16903532)
The efficiency of photosynthesis is nowhere near 30%. It’s 3% if so.
Re:How Windmills as Wide as Jumbo Jets Are Making Clean Ener...
by wrycoder on Monday April 23, 2018 @10:39AM
(#16903749)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthetic_efficiency
You’re both right - there’s lots of room for practical improvement.
Re:How Windmills as Wide as Jumbo Jets Are Making Clean Ener...
by sandworm101 on Monday April 23, 2018 @11:03AM
(#16903993)
Even if that number is correct for photosynthesis, there are lots of inefficiencies when it comes to converting the products of photosynthesis (biomass) into usable energy (electricity). Wood pellets burn well, but people forget that wood pellets use energy in their creation (drying) and transport (trucks). There are also a host of evils in terms of habitat destruction and emission of pollutants other than CO2. Solar panels can live quietly and locally, producing electricity directly rather than trying to convert it too and from biomass.
If you get the conversion efficiency to the same level as photosynthesis (30% nominally) the cost of energy could approach the cost of producing biofuels.