Electric Vehicles In An Electric-Centric World- Part 5-Solar-Wind

SOLAR

Solar. For all of solar power's positive attributes and benefits, the most obvious drawback it suffers from is its marriage to the sun; the sun must shine for the power system to work. Granted, somewhere in the world the sun is usually shining. However, to generate the quantities of electricity that will be needed for "base-load" or on-demand/all-the-time electrical power, solar arrays will have to be constructed over a vast expanse of geography.

The geographical areas that these solar arrays will displace are enormous and may be environmentally unsustainable. To employ solar power on the grand scale that will be needed to generate and supply sufficient electricity to power an electric-centric transportation system, will require the confiscation of thousands of acres of natural [and perhaps environmentally-sensitive] areas and their transformation into thousands of acres of solar arrays. In other words, solar power has a rather large "footprint". Unfortunately, large footprints that are created by such expansive conversion activity produce their own adverse consequences, including the disruption of natural ecosystems that exist in the adjacent areas.

Another considerable problem associated with solar power - indeed its major flaw - is that it requires good constant weather with minimal cloud cover to be a viable energy option. Won't find that in Seattle, Washington. Solar power will not work efficiently or effectively without it. With global warming stoking ever-larger and more frequent storms, the presence of cloud cover may be increasing, with a corresponding decrease in solar utilization rates. In sum, solar for "base-load" purposes is not sufficiently consistent and reliable. At least fifty percent of each day is unproductive on location. Although solar power is not a good "base-load" source of electricity, its criticism here lies only in the context of the potential role it might play in an electrical infrastructure that is dedicated to, and is capable of, providing reliable electric generating capacity in an amount that is sufficient to power a rather large population of "plug in" vehicles. No comment is made with regard to the efficacy of using solar-generated electricity for other purposes such as residential, commercial or industrial lighting, heating or cooling. For those purposes, solar power is eminently viable and its use should be expanded. In the context of providing "base-load" power in sufficient quantities to operate many electric vehicles, however, solar power's potential is more circumscribed.

Even with developing technologies that are being tested to enhance the production of electricity [concentrated solar thermal using mirrors to focus and intensify light], better and more efficient photovoltaic cells [so-called "thin film" technology and CIGS composition panels], and interesting thermal storage techniques that attempt to employ at night the solar heat that is produced during the day [by using molten sodium or other salts to store heat, then generating electricity at night by using a heat exchanger to produce steam to drive the turbine and generator], solar power is still mainly a source that is inextricably dependent upon daytime, sunny weather. In bad weather solar power is quite limited; at night it produces little if nothing.

Lastly, even on a larger scale, expansion of solar power will be concentrated in sunny zones in the United States, particularly those states located in thinly populated areas of the southwest. Accordingly, transmission lines to these remote regions must be constructed to utilize this source, requiring an additional and rather significant outlay of capital.

WIND

As with solar power, ditto for wind power. For all of its proclaimed benefits, wind power is still an environmentally dependent source; i.e., it requires wind. As most weekend sailors observe, wind is not a regular and consistent visitor. Wind turbines work only when the wind is blowing, and they work well only when the wind is blowing hard.

Placement of wind turbines in particular zones ameliorates this flaw to some extent [i.e., natural vortexes, passes/gaps in mountain zones, prairies where daily thermal changes produce wind, etc.]. Inevitably, however, this dependency on variable wind patterns advances and supports the conclusion that wind turbines are not a viable source of base-load electric power; that wind power is not capable of producing the quantities of consistently reliable electricity that will be needed to power the new electric transportation society.

As with the sun and solar power, the wind usually blows somewhere in the world. But the same unified grid and geopolitical considerations to meet electric energy needs on a massive scale will have to be addressed and overcome to make wind power a more consistent and reliable contributor. None of the major players "share" oil revenue. No one should expect that others will "share" their wind power. Such "globalization" of natural power does little to enhance energy security, one of the key goals of any nation's energy policy.

Other drawbacks. As with solar power, wind power possesses a large "footprint". To produce electricity in the quantities that are required to power an electric-centric automobile fleet, many wind turbines will have to be established on a large wind "farms". A vast geographic areas will therefore have to be appropriated and dedicated to wind "farms" to assure that electricity will be produced on the commercial scale needed to allow "plug-in" vehicles to become the preferred mode of transportation.

Wind power also suffers from aesthetic considerations. Wind turbines are aesthetically unappealing, as evidenced by the vociferous objections rising from the throats of land owners who protest the installation of large wind farms that obstruct their view of the natural country side. Indeed, riparian activists [including one prominent senator from Massachusetts] protest against offshore wind "farms" that are slated to be situated off some of the Nation's most pristine coastlines, claiming them to be "eye sores". These objections must be addressed and assuaged. Moreover, large wind turbines are accused of presenting dangers to avian life; they may interfere with bird migration and cause injury or death to birds should they fly into the path of a spinning turbine blade.

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