Solar now requires no more upfront capital than coal or gas to produce the same annual electricity, reversing a disadvantage that was as large as five-to-one a decade ago.
I bought a 1 kg rest mass barrel of sunshine, and… boy howdy, for the price I might as well have purchased 1.8 times 10^15 joules from the energy grid.
1kg rest mass of sunlight in a barrel is objectively horrifying lol. Napkin math says thats ~9e19J. For reference, Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated on earth, produced ~2.1e17J. You’ve got a barrel containing ~440 Tsar bomba detonations
I’m glad it doesn’t exist. That committee trying to design warning signs for permanent nuclear waste storage would have a field day. “The inner lining is only 99.99999999999999999999999999% reflective while it’s in this certain temperature range. Do not inhale or exhale forcefully in the vicinity.” is a non-starter.
I bought a 1 kg rest mass barrel of sunshine, and… boy howdy, for the price I might as well have purchased 1.8 times 10^15 joules from the energy grid.
1kg rest mass of sunlight in a barrel is objectively horrifying lol. Napkin math says thats ~9e19J. For reference, Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated on earth, produced ~2.1e17J. You’ve got a barrel containing ~440 Tsar bomba detonations
I’m glad it doesn’t exist. That committee trying to design warning signs for permanent nuclear waste storage would have a field day. “The inner lining is only 99.99999999999999999999999999% reflective while it’s in this certain temperature range. Do not inhale or exhale forcefully in the vicinity.” is a non-starter.