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A comment on Why is solar more expensive in the U.S. than in other countries?. Parent comment

Re:Why is solar more expensive in the U.S. than in other cou... by dragontamer on Monday August 15, 2022 @11:49AM (#32471207)
> Would I prefer a solar system that is 1/3 the cost but 1/4 the life in the US? I don't know.

Hmmm.

If we assume that solar panels are rapidly advancing, then probably?

The reason 'move fast and break things' works for computers, is that computers are gonna be upgraded in 2 years anyway and we are going to rewrite everything in 5 to 10 years with whatever new programming language becomes popular then.

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If solar panels are going such a revolution, then yeah, shorter lifespan and short term decisions dominate.

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Re:Why is solar more expensive in the U.S. than in other cou... by krupan on Monday August 15, 2022 @12:08PM (#32471458)
Isn't the whole point of solar that it's "clean" and "renewable"? If we are wasting panels every 5 years that doesn't sound clean or renewable to me.
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Re:Why is solar more expensive in the U.S. than in other cou... by hedora on Monday August 15, 2022 @01:02PM (#32472292)
It depends on the embodied carbon of the panels and the time for it to be less than the local power plant.

(There's also the actual wasted panels, and raw materials, but let's face it, that's rounding error vs five years of household waste. Also, the replacement will probably be better on those fronts.)

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