Anyone live near a solar Farm?

[paulsharvey]

Oh, not to go into solar good vs solar bad, solar carports at businesses probably IS a good thing.

Im of the little bit of coal, oil, NG, nuke, hydro, solar, heck, even wind (if someone could make that work...). We can't go full solar, nor should we even if we could. Small modular, package nuclear is a good option too, if it wasnt for the permitting and public issues

 

[paulsharvey]

But, this thread is largely about how distributive/annoying/troublesome is solar farm near your residence, not economics of it.

The construction is intensive, but once over, low impact on daily life.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Last Year, there was a proposal to put a large solar farm, 1/4 mile from my property, on steep rocky land not suitable for agriculture. I attended the township meetings and even obtained a set of plans. I listening to the pitch made by the solar company, other property owners, and reviewed the pros and cons online. It wouldn't be visible from my house and likely wouldn't affect my property value, so I had no objections to the plan.

I was surprised to find the project was scrapped due to objections from residents in a development across the valley, a half mile away. They were concerned about the reflection of the sun off the surface of the panels that would be directed toward them during the afternoon.

I found some reference to the issue online, but have passed many solar installations and have not noticed this glare. Apparently, even with the anti glare surface of the panels, it can be an issue in certain circumstances.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, just for laughs, if we deleted Washington DC, and ita 68 square miles, we could generate 6,500 MW, or 5.5m homes. With some efficiency upgrades, and smart planning, we could power Maryland, just by bulldozing DC. Add a couple small modular nuke reactors, and we power Maryland and Virginia, with no loss of anything productive

Edit: maybe we can crowd source the funds; start a GoFundMe account..

 

[rontaki]

If one is against nuclear power, they must consider that the Sun is a nuclear power plant. Even wind is powered by the Sun.

 

[paulsharvey]

For low impact, there are smaller NG power plants with a very low foot print (John R Kelley plant, GRU, Gainesville FL), which you might drive by and wonder what it is, Now, its a baby, 119 MW,. But footprint, it fits in a 640 ft x 640 ft square. Price wise? It dates from 1920s, and has had multiple refits, over hauls, ect.

Given the choice between being right next to one, I'd take solar, as there are maybe weekly visits by maintenance. They are Low impact once finished

Now, for what i want my powr company to use/buy/build, whatever is the absolute cheapest per MW they can..

 

[paulsharvey]

.

 

[DarkBlack]

Also, given the choice, I would rather be next to a solar field than a wind farm

 

[paulsharvey]

Point being,
1) smarter people then us plan these $1b+ projects, and the look ahead, cost structure, and Yes, tax burden
2) What works and / or makes sense in N FLa may not in N Dak.
3) Variety is good, from a resource cost hardening, national security, geographical,
4) You/we, largely have zero say,
5) Most of us just want the lights to work, as cheaply as possible

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I feel we need diverse sources of power. There are pros and cons to each, and diversity helps create a constant flow of energy given different challenges that each may encounter. i.e. if Mount Saint Helen blows up again, solar will be greatly reduced, same as NG and oil when some wacko decides to destroy some pipelines...