Solar energy is the fastest growing clean energy source in the U.S., compared to wind, water and nuclear power. As extreme temperatures from heat waves strain electric grids in the U.S., many parts of the country could face blackouts. Solar energy is a potential solution to protect the grid during extreme heat.
WSJ explores how solar power could be effective during this extreme heat while looking at some of the challenges solar energy presents like increasing climate waste and efficiency issues.
0:00 Heat waves and blackouts
0:21 Solar power, explained
1:53 Solar power challenges
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46 Comments
No…..
Simple math – how long does it take to get back your investment and does the manufacture guarantee the systems performance for that time?
—- now give o% federal loans for that time span.
EV charging will help proliferation.
How much is this AD? There is no fact here? Heat reduces solar panel efficiency and this stresses the grid more, and the grid may have too much generating capacity during the night.
Interesting video but only one sided. Here are some thoughts on the other side:
1. When I came of age in the 1970s, the settled science was not global warming but global cooling.
2. I just got back from Alaska and went into Glacier Bay National Park. We were given maps with numbers on them like 1794, 1850 and so on all over the maps. These numbers and their location indicated where the glacier was on that date. So, in 1794, the glaciers were at the mouth of the park. 70 years later John Muir shows up and the glaciers had retreated by 50 miles. That raises the question of how was the planet warming long before before carbon emissions came on the scene?
3. In the 1960s I visited Yosemite. They were very proud that they did not have polluting diesel vehicles, Instead, their vehicles ran on what they described as clean natural gas. Now they want my gas stove because of all of the "pollution
4. Place solar panels on your roof if you must, but there will be more costs that meets the eye. For example, should you need a new roof, the solar panels will have to be removed and the replaced after a new roof is installed.
For a lot of people, climate change can feel vague and distant. But cheap, abundant energy would transform society *now*. You don't have to care about the planet; if you like economic growth and technological progress, we could usher in a new era of prosperity if marginal electricity was basically free. I understand that climate change is the zeitgeist, so people will justify their ideas by pitching them as solutions to climate change. But we should also talk about the economic miracles that follow when energy gets cheaper. Solve climate change and make everyone richer and enable new power-hungry technologies. This is so much more than climate change.
I live in San Antonio, in a house built in 2013 (3100sf). My electricity bill for June 6 – July 6 was $137 and I used 1850 kwh. It makes zero sense to spend $40-50k on solar panels, even with tax credits. Better off getting a high efficiency ac. The temp in San Antonio is 103 and the humidity is 19% right now, I can handle this type of heat np.
We have solar abundance. Let's rapidly build solar PV. SunPower products are Cradle to Cradle certified for circular economy production. My 10 panels on my garage generate 6,000 kilowatt hours annually. A Tesla residential battery for grid export is the next step.
The CEO lady sounds like Kamala Harris.
Nice ad for solar power WSJ. Talk about fraud in the industry, Chinese theft of America's tech, and slave labor used to produce the materials more. If you can't beat those problems, you can't use the solution if real
Lots of CANNAFARM trolls in the comments section today. Buyer beware.
No.
I'm not sold on climate change. as far as renewables they need to be put where they are most effective. if i was in texas i would make a solar array into a canopy for parking my vehicles. that may not be so good an idea in maine. if i was in chicago where the wind always blows get that wind turbine up fast. maybe not in oak ridge tn with low wind. proper placement yields better results.
Not every home enjoys similar sunlight
Solar works well in the American southwest. Anywhere else in the US, transmission is key.
Or we could just go all-in on small modular nuclear plants and leave solar/wind to ~20% of our power.
Perhaps someone could inform the power companies that rooftop solar is good for THEM and the environment. Perhaps then they will stop trying to make adding rooftop solar a loosing proposition for consumers. I'm looking at you @SDGE, @PGE, @SCE, etc.
Solar for my home installed by a company is still expensive, even if i pay for it over time via loan (which I'm not thrilled of). Videos like this always amaze me thinking everyone can simply drop down $20k or take out a 25 year loan to install solar.
Nothing will work because our economy depends on exponential growth to survive and renewable energy just adds to the growth.
We need more renewable sources of energy
2:27 “Temperature can affect panels efficiency” – The latest FUD! I live in Thailand and power my house and EV off-grid with solar. Temperature rises are associated with more sunshine which is far more important than a tiny efficiency loss.
It doesn’t require fossil fuels?
How are the facilities that make these panels powered? How are the materials transported? How are the materials to make them mined?
Fact: it would take twice the area as California covered in solar panels to provide the US with its daily electricity needs.
You think the summer is bad…those of you in the south..prepare for the winter. It might snow again Texas. Be safe and prepared.
Or how about we embrace nuclear power?
How did they post this video without mentioning "the duck curve"? Good luck running your AC after 5pm off solar when you get home from work.
Given the increasing number of solar panels in the coming years, a challenge is how to handle (tons) of battery waste. Solar battery units only last 10-15 years.
Wouldn't customers be incentivised to keep their battery energy for themselves to reduce the cycle count on their batteries? If I were to install solar and batteries I'd only export excess solar energy once my batteries were full to save having to pay for a new battery early than required or suffering a blackout. This is coming from an aussie where our feed-in tarrif is relatively low and I have no idea what feed-in tarrifs are in other countries.
Solar panel manufactures process is toxic and it’s a big problem for recycling it
I feel like hydro is the best investment. Currents flow 24/7 365 a year….
Solar energy is clean, but is making solar panels and other equipments also clean? Does it do more good than harm or just leave the pollution in developing countries?
Energy is infrastructure and just like water or roads or healthcare. It requires private and public cooperation. Customers alone cannot effect enough change. Get real about this.
Don't forget to shut down that other bs nonsense accordingly.
Lol, the oil and gas company is fighting renewable energy big time. So I don't think so…😅😂
Best way to fight climate change: don’t breed. It’s that simple 🤷♂️
PV won't ever work on a mass scale
So, what do we do during cold storms?
Not fossil fuels, but other metals that an inconvenient truth -= WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF
Oh, no, no, climate change, oh no!
Bogus science, bogus business, bogus government
I live in the northeast region of USA and I have solar panels. Not the sunniest region by far, but the electricity my panels produce is always more than sufficient.
If you live in a region with a lot more sunlight, solar panels are a no-brainer.
The more people that have them reduce the strain on the grid, helping your neighbors in the time of heavy demand.
It sure as f**k couldn’t hurt!
Climate change is a giant fraud.
There is some clear bias going on here in this video – the suggestion that solar panels might be dangerous because of the toxic chemicals they may contain is a very lazy, throwaway statement to try to stir uncertainty about the technology. Especially when the burning of fossil fuels directly contributes to far larger amounts of toxic chemicals being released into the environment. Almost all realistic use cases of solar panels will never expose the users/owners to the same level of harmful chemicals than a coal power plant does.
A CEO of a solar company tries to convince you that solar power will save the US? I approve to a degree, but never take advice from a corporate climatist.
Somebody needs to tell this the the California Public Utilities Commission.
The CPUC has sidelined rooftop solar and will allow PG&E and the other power companies to keep wasting ratepayer money on misguided, high-cost infrastructure investments
Ironic that a renewable power source is apparently saving the fossil fuel loving state of Texas from the effects of climate change which many Republicans vociferously claim is a hoax !
All Rooftops should have Solar Panels connected with Smartgrid.
I’m not giving them my stored up electricity. Use your stored up electricity instead of giving it to the Grid.
That’s not what solar panels are for. They’re for off Grid use.
Paying bills and taxes is a sin.
Solar is typically 20% efficient, meaning it generates at least 4 times as much heat as electricity toward "local warming" like parked cars without reflective cover