This is why I have no problem [CENSORED] members of the ruling class.
Comment on U.S. solar will pass wind in 2025 and leave coal in the dust soon after
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 month agoThat’s been the joke of Solar for a while. Engineers could have told you all the way back in the 1970s (really, the 1910s) that it costs less money to leave a big plate out in the bright sun than to drill a giant hole and hope there’s enough spicy rocks at the bottom of it to justify the expense.
We should have crested this hill a lot sooner, but the heavy emphasis on subsidized fossil fuels during the 80s, 90s, and 00s kept these fuels artificially cheap. Meanwhile, fossil fuel firms actually did invest in Green Energy R&D but only for the purpose of erecting “patent thickets” that would hinder competitive growth of these alternatives.
This has lead to big surges in the development and deployment of Green Energy grids outside of the countries doing most of the cutting edge research. Americans are only now catching up.
whereyaaat@lemmings.world 1 month ago
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It’s [REDACTED] or be [REDACTED] out there
bluGill@fedia.io 1 month ago
Patents have a short life span. The patent wall keeps expiring and then everyone can use it no cost. the big improvements are long gone and all they can patent is small improvements you can do without (though you may not want to). They also run into those making things do their own r&d and have their own patents.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Patents have a short life span.
Years, depending on how it is used and renewed. But the point is that you’ve got a minefield of potential legal liabilities every time you try and launch a business. You don’t know whether what you’re doing is patented until you check. And if enough entrepreneurs have their businesses blown up early on, it delays how quickly alternative energy can be built out and deployed by at least as long as these patents survive.
When the government is in your corner, handing out subsidies, leaving environmental rules unenforced, securing new oil fields overseas through military force, and generally making your life as an energy tycoon easier, you’re at a comparative advantage to the wind farm guy who has to argue with the Kennedys over hurting a bird or obstructing the Massachusetts Bay skyline.
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 month ago
You’re really discounting that fossil fuels have hella bang for the buck, loads of power per gallon. tl;dr: Energy dense
I can run my little generator at camp all night long if there’s as little as 3 gallons in there. Space heater or AC unit, lights, all that. I’d have to have many panels and batteries to compare to that output. My best battery is a huge LIPO4, trolling motor can’t kill it, not even close. But leaving the LED lights on for a little over a day drained it dry.
We need way more solar infrastructure to get where we’re going, and I’m all about it. But since since the GOP has decided to go back in time, China is going to smoke America, both in renewables and the associated economic benefits.
Did not know about the patent thing! Know any examples?
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Coal is generally the worst of the lot. Oil and gas burn cleaner and have more combustible by weight. Coal is energy dense but also heavy af and dirty as hell. It’s also very common place and compatibly safe to transport and simple to use.
Fine enough to warm your home or grill some meat. But you’re not putting a rocket into orbit with coal.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 1 month ago
And you’re definitely not with wind and solar lol.
Coal is cheap, abundant in supply, and easy.
TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Coal cheap? Incorrect.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Not anymore. Hasn’t been cheap in decades